Jędrzej Śniadecki

  Jędrzej Śniadecki (1768 - 1838) was a Polish writer, physician, chemist and biologist. His achievements include the creation of modern Polish terminology in the field of chemistry.

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Life and work

Śniadecki was born November 30, 1768, in Żnin, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. After completing his university studies, he was chosen to be the first professor of medicine and chemistry at the Lithuanian Grand Duchy's "Main School," which in 1803 was renamed the the Imperial University of Vilna. One of his students was Ignacy Domeyko. Śniadecki was also one of the main organizers and head of the recently-created Wilno Medical-Surgical Academy. Finally, from 1806 to 1836 he headed the local Medical Scientific Society, one of the premier scientific societies in the region.

Śniadecki's most important book was Początki chemii (The Beginnings of Chemistry), the first Polish-language chemistry textbook, prepared for the Commission of National Education. It was considered one of the best Polish scientifical textbooks of the age and was used in Polish universities well into the 1930s. Śniadecki was also known as a writer of less serious works; a co-founder of Towarzystwo Szubrawców (the Wastrel Society), he contributed articles to its satirical weekly, Wiadomości Brukowe (The Gutter News). He also wrote copiously in Wiadomości Wileńskie (The Vilnius' News), the largest and most prestigious daily in Vilnius.

Śniadecki may have been the original discoverer of the element ruthenium in 1807, thirty-seven years before Karl Klaus.

Jędrzej was the brother of Jan Śniadecki and father of Ludwika Śniadecka. He died May 12, 1838, in Vilnius and is buried at the Rossa Cemetery.

See also

• History of philosophy in Poland