Henryk Arctowski

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Henryk Arctowski (March 1940)
Henryk Arctowski's grave in Warsaw

Henryk Arctowski [ ˈxɛnrɨk artsˈtɔfskʲi ], born Henryk Artzt , (born  July 15, 1871 in Warsaw , †  February 21, 1958 in Washington, DC ) was a Polish geophysicist , meteorologist , oceanographer and polar explorer .

Life

Arctowski was born Henryk Artzt in Warsaw in 1871. His German ancestors moved from Württemberg in the 17th century . He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Liège and later geology and chemistry at the Sorbonne in Paris . From 1893 he worked for Walther Spring (1848–1911) at the Chemical Institute of the University of Liège. During this time he Polonized a name in Arctowski.

In 1895 he met Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery , who recruited him to the Antarctic as scientific director for the Belgica expedition (1897–1899) . Arctowski prepared for his assignment by deepening his knowledge of glaciology , oceanography and meteorology . He went on study trips to Zurich , where he consulted Albert Heim and made several excursions to glaciers in the Swiss Alps , and to England, where he visited the oceanographer John Murray . He also spent some time at the Royal Belgian Observatory ( Observatoire royal de Belgique ) in Ukkel . Arctowski also helped fund the expedition by giving lectures to raise funds. At his suggestion, the Romanian biologist Emil Racoviță and finally the Polish student of natural sciences Antoni Dobrowolski were accepted into the expedition team.

The Belgica left Antwerp on August 16, 1897 and returned on November 5, 1899. From March 3, 1898 to March 14, 1899, the ship was trapped by the pack ice off the coast of Antarctica . During this time, Arctowski carried out studies on the formation of sea ​​ice and icebergs and collected meteorological data over a full year. As an oceanographer, he made a bathymetric map of the area passed through on the basis of plumb measurements . After the expedition, Arctowski prepared his data at the Ukkel observatory, where he stayed until 1909.

In addition to his research, Arctowski also gave a number of lectures abroad. On one of these trips he met the American singer Arian Jane Addy in London , whom he married in 1909. In the summer of 1910 he took part as a scientific director on an expedition on the ship Île-de-France to Spitzbergen and the Lofoten . On his return he organized the scientific department at the New York City Library , which he headed from 1911 to 1919.

During the First World War he campaigned for the independence of Poland. He served as an expert for the US delegation to the Paris Peace Conference and created an almost 2,500 page report, Report on Poland, with numerous maps, graphics and tables. In Versailles he worked closely with the Polish delegation.

In 1920 Arctowski returned to Poland, where Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski offered him the post of Minister of Education. Arctowski refused and instead became professor and director of the Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology at Lviv University . He strongly advocated Polish polar research and supported both Poland's participation in the Second International Polar Year 1932–1933 and the Polish West Greenland Expedition of 1937, which was led by his student Aleksander Kosiba (1901–1981). Arctowski also called for a Polish research station to be set up in West Antarctica .

When the Second World War broke out , Arctowski was in Washington . Since returning to Poland was out of the question, he took a position at the Smithsonian Institution . Here he devoted himself to researching the sun , drawing on data that he had collected between 1926 and 1930. He was also elected President of the International Commission on Climate Change. From 1950 he gave up his position at the Smithsonian Institution due to a progressive illness, but remained active in private research.

According to Arctowski are a Polish research station in Antarctica ( Arctowski station ), its lighthouse and a number of geographic objects such as the Arctowski Peninsula , the Arctowski Nunatak , the Henryk Glacier , the Arctowski Dome , the Arctowski Mountains , the Arctowski Peak , the Henryk Cove and the Henryk Peak in Antarctica as well as the mountain Arctowskifjellet and the glacier Arctowskibreen on Svalbard.

literature

Web links

Commons : Henryk Arctowski  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Stewart: Antarctica - An Encyclopedia . Vol. 1, McFarland & Co., Jefferson and London 2011, ISBN 978-0-7864-3590-6 , p. 71 (English)
  2. ^ Tomasz Janecki: Henryk Arctowski (1871-1958) . Short biography accompanying a commemorative coin of the Narodowy Bank Polski , 2007 (English)
personal data
SURNAME Arctowski, Henryk
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Artzt, Henryk (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish geophysicist, meteorologist, oceanographer and polar explorer
DATE OF BIRTH July 15, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Warsaw
DATE OF DEATH February 21, 1958
Place of death Washington, DC