Kasa imienia Mianowskiego

Kasa im. Józefa Mianowskiego – Fundacja Popierania Nauki (the Józef Mianowski Fund – Foundation for the Promotion of Science) is described by its own website as the oldest still-operating scientific organization in Poland, founded in Warsaw in 1881. It was established on 12 July 1881 under the Russian partition, when Polish scientific and cultural life faced severe restrictions, and it quickly became the largest and most important Polish organization supporting research and scholarly publishing. Its original founders were a group of 45 figures from science, medicine, finance, and literature, including the physician Tytus Chałubiński, the financier Stanisław Leopold Kronenberg, the writer Henryk Sienkiewicz, and Bolesław Prus (Aleksander Głowacki). The institution was named after Józef Mianowski, a physician and former rector of the Warsaw Main School, whose legacy inspired its mission. For decades the Kasa functioned as a grant-giving and publishing body. It funded scientific research, subsidized scholarly books and journals, and supported the development of Polish academic institutions. Before the First World War, thanks to bequests such as that of the geologist Witold Zglenicki, it commanded funds so large that it struggled to spend them. During the Second Polish Republic it operated as the Institute for the Promotion of Science (Instytut Popierania Nauki). Its activities were forcibly halted on 31 December 1952, together with those of the Warsaw Scientific Society, by the communist authorities. After the political transformation of 1989, the Kasa was reactivated. By a notarial deed of 20 May 1991 it was re-established as the Foundation for the Promotion of Science, and on 11 October 1991 it was entered into the register of foundations by the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw. Since then it has continued its historic mission: awarding scholarships, co-financing scholarly publications, conferences and training, and organizing scientific congresses. Its seat was originally in the Kronenberg Palace and later, from 1924, in the Staszic Palace in Warsaw. The foundation publishes the annual "Nauka Polska. Jej Potrzeby, Organizacja i Rozwój" (Polish Science: Its Needs, Organization and Development). Its presidents have included Tytus Chałubiński, Stanisław Leopold Kronenberg, Ignacy Baranowski, Henryk Struve, Władysław Findeisen (1991–2009), and Leszek Zasztowt (since 2010).

Kasa im. Józefa Mianowskiego was founded on 12 July 1881 in Warsaw, then part of the Russian partition, by a group of 45 Polish intellectuals, scientists, physicians, financiers, and writers. Among the founders were Jerzy Aleksandrowicz, Ignacy Baranowski, Eugeniusz Dziewulski, Aleksander Głowacki (the novelist Bolesław Prus), Władysław Holewiński, Józef Kirszrot-Prawnicki, Aleksander Kraushar, Stanisław Leopold Kronenberg, Jakub Natanson, Józef Kazimierz Plebański, Stanisław Przystański, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Antoni Ślósarski, Karol Strasburger, Filip Sulimierski, August Wrześniowski, and Bronisław Znatowicz. On 6 October 1881 a managing committee was formed, chaired by Dr Tytus Chałubiński, a former professor of the Warsaw Medico-Surgical Academy and the Main School. Stanisław Kronenberg, a financier and patron of science, became vice-president; Karol Deike, a financier and president of the Bank Handlowy w Warszawie, was elected treasurer; and the physician and social activist Karol Dobrski became secretary. Other committee members included Piotr Chmielowski, Mścisław Godlewski, Władysław Holewiński, Jakub Natanson, Józef Eryk Natanson, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Franciszek Śliwicki, Henryk Struve, and Filip Sulimierski. All committee members had previously been associated with the Warsaw Main School, which had been dissolved by the tsarist authorities. The Kasa was named after Józef Mianowski, a physician and former rector of the Warsaw Main School, and it was conceived as a self-help institution to support Polish science and scholarship under foreign rule. Already in the 19th century it became the largest Polish organization supporting research and scholarly publications. It funded research projects, awarded scholarships, and subsidized the publication of scientific works. Before the First World War, thanks to bequests such as that of the Polish geologist Witold Zglenicki, the Kasa possessed funds so substantial that it could not spend them all. During the Second Polish Republic it operated as the Institute for the Promotion of Science (Instytut Popierania Nauki). Its headquarters were initially in the Kronenberg Palace and, from 1924, in the Staszic Palace in Warsaw. The institution was deactivated on 31 December 1952, together with the Warsaw Scientific Society, by the communist authorities of the Polish People's Republic. After the fall of communism, it was reactivated: by a notarial deed of 20 May 1991 it was re-established as the Foundation for the Promotion of Science (Fundacja Popierania Nauki), and on 11 October 1991 it was entered into the register of foundations by the District Court for the capital city of Warsaw. Since then it has continued its mission of supporting Polish science through scholarships, grants for publications, conferences, and scientific congresses. It publishes the annual "Nauka Polska. Jej Potrzeby, Organizacja i Rozwój". Its presidents have included Tytus Chałubiński (1881–1885), Stanisław Leopold Kronenberg (1886–1887), Ignacy Baranowski (1887–1893), Antoni Okolski (1894–1897), Henryk Struve (1898–1900, 1902–1903), Władysław Holewiński (1901, 1904), Konrad Dobrski (1905–1914), Feliks Kucharzewski (1915–1920), Karol Lutostański (1921–1939), Franciszek Czubalski (1945–1947), Stanisław Małkowski (1947–1949), Władysław Findeisen (1991–2009), and Leszek Zasztowt (since 2010).

• 2010

  Leszek Zasztowt became president.

• 1991

  Reactivated by notarial deed of 20 May 1991 as the Foundation for the Promotion of Science; entered into the register of foundations on 11 October 1991.

• 1952

  Deactivated on 31 December 1952 together with the Warsaw Scientific Society.

• 1924

  Headquarters moved to the Staszic Palace in Warsaw.

• 1881

  Founded on 12 July 1881 in Warsaw under the Russian partition by 45 founders.

• 1881

  On 6 October 1881, a managing committee was formed, chaired by Dr Tytus Chałubiński.

Poland's oldest operating scientific organization, dedicated to supporting research and scholarly publishing through grants, scholarships, and conferences.

• Nauka Polska. Jej Potrzeby, Organizacja i Rozwój

1. 1mianowski.waw.plmianowski.waw.pl
2. 2Kasa im. Józefa Mianowskiego – Wikipediapl.wikipedia.org
3. 3Kasa imienia Mianowskiego – Wikidatawikidata.org