W łodzim ierz Hubicki (Poland)
JĘD RZEJ ŚNIADECKI AS A STUDENT OF CHEMISTRY
In the second half of the 18th century chem istry alm ost en tirely sep arates from alchemy and becomes a science. Instead of th e speculative and m etaphysical ideas of alchem y there appear for th e first tim e some tim id attem pts to generalise th e facts and phenom ena observed, to estab lish a reasonable classification of m inerals, to found th e basis of the chemical laws. A quantitative description of certain chem ical reactions, discovery and elucidation of th e n atu re of such gases as hydrogen, oxy gen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen—they have finally disclosed w h a t really are air and w ater and subsequently resulted in th e Law of Conservation of Mass (Lomonosov, Lavoisier), combustion theory (Lavoisier), and a m ore exact definition of the concept of th e chemical element.
The experim ental m aterial accum ulated for several centuries of al chemy achieves now a new interpretation. There are only few naive ones th a t still keep on deluding themselves w ith possible transm uting lead into gold and not m any believe in the philosopher’s stone. The palpable evidence for how profitable chem istry can be, along w ith its large pros pects m ade obvious by increasingly num erous new discoveries, have m ade chem istry to become an extrem elly popular science in th a t period., Thousands of m en eager for knowledge dedicate them selves w ith enthusiasm to the experim ental studies; n o t only in th e laboratories filled w ith junk, full of toxic fumes b u t also in the elegant society salons th e people of the world, noblemen, aristocrats and the rich would discuss
on the new achievem ents in chem istry w ith careless ignorance.
In France th e re are organised special courses of chem istry for high society; the courses th a t would provide fundam entals and w ould show th e prospect of chem istry in a possibly quick and interesting way. It is also not surprising th a t in France, w here th e fair sex has always en joyed apparently special considerations, th e re w ere established corre spondent chem istry courses exclusively for ladies.
In several countries in Europe some chemical periodicals come to ap pear regularly, and scientific societies are founded w ith th e purpose to cultivate and to divulgate both chem istry and chemical technology. It is characteristic th a t a certain m erit in the propagation of chem istry is also due to Freem asonry lodges so popular a t th a t time over th e whole Eu rope. In fact m any of them, however, rath er advocated alchemy.
In Poland the interest in chem istry in those times was not sm aller than in other European countries. In 1768 in W arsaw the Physical Chem ical Society was founded. The problem of its activity as well as of its m em bership is obscure, the only one real item of evidence of its existence being th e edition of two small printed volumes, entitled Różne uwagi Fizyczno-Chemicznego Warszawskiego Tovoarzystwa... (Some Notes of the Physical and Chemical Society of Warsaw), Warszawa, 1769. That short-living society cast in its lot w ith other scientific societies in Poland having shortly finished its existence by lack of necessary funds and of interest of its members. Then about 1777 another society was established in th e circles linked to the K night School (Szkoła Rycerska) in W arsaw on the initiative of a Frenchm an, Jean-B aptiste Dubois. U nfortunately, it did not live long enough, either.
In the second half of the 18th century chem istry in Poland is under th e protection of Stanisław August—a m an of good intentions but of mediocre abilities; a w eak king and diplomat b u t a great lover of arts and sciences. His versatile dilettantism was highly recognized by the Royal Society of London which had honoured him w ith its membership. T he interest in chem istry that Stanisław August showed is directly con nected w ith his w ill to replenish his ow n purse and the treasury, y et the w ays he chose to attain his aims w ere entirely different. On th e one hand, the king tru sted to various cheaters-alchemists w ho promised him to produce gold. On the other hand, he appointed to responsible po sitions and to governm ent offices men know ing the tru e and genuine chem istry. W ith the same aim he used willingly to send young and ca pable men abroad for th e studies of chem istry of Paris, Freiberg, Ban ska Bystrica and to m any other university towns.
Stanisław A ugust had a chemical laboratory and a mineralogical room in his palace in Warsaw. His appointed chemist and at the same tim e custodian of his n atu ra l science collection was Stanisław Samuel Okra szewski. He often helped th e king w ith confidential advice and explana tions of both simple chemical problems and some alchemic intricacies. However, the power of transacting deals w ith any alchem ist or chemist was conferred to a factotum and a king’s friend, count A ugust Moszyń ski, an enthusiastic alchemist. F raudulent alchemic practices of diverse foreign frauds greatly reduced the king’s funds. The swindles of John C hristian Simon, of Ferdinand Ludwig Harrsch, of A lexander Cagliostro and of m any others had cost the king thousands of ducats. By th e end
of his reign Stanisław A ugust taught by experience used to subm it any alchemic offer proposed to him to Samuel Okraszewski o r to th e analy tical chemists w orking in the Mint Office in W arsaw for a chemical ap praisal, before he made a decision. Besides th e king, like in other Eu ropean countries, also th e Freem ansonry patronized ch em istry .1
In the last two decades of th e 18th century Poland was not short of genuine chemists. In addition to Okraszewski th e re w ere also Ignacy Bieńkowski, Ja n K anty Mieroszewski (the tw o studied chem istry and m etallurgy in Banska Bystrica, by the king’s order), K arol Kortum, F ra n ciszek Scheidt, Jan Jaśkiewicz, Rev. Józef Osiński, A ndrzej K rupiński, as well as foreigners: Jean-B aptiste Dubois, Johann J. Ferber, J e a n - Philippe Carrosi and others. The fields for th e ir capabilities w ere e ith e r th e Poland’s m ineral resources, or th e medical practice, o r else teaching training in schools. The Education Comm ittee in reorganizing th e edu cation in Poland, had considered as necessary to introduce th e rudim ents of chem istry in secondary schools and a more detailed lecture of chem istry at two existing Main Schools, i.e. at the U niversity of Cracow and the U niversity of Wilno (Vilnius). In the later, as it is g en erally known, the chem istry was lectured by Jędrzej Śniadecki—a personality th a t was out of th e common.
Whoever read the biography of Jędrzej Śniadecki, however, m ight be struck by the fact th a t th e author of th e first original Polish m anual of chem istry studied medicine in Cracow and fu rth er com plemented h is knowledge abroad, b u t w hen he came back he took on th e ch air of ... chem istry a t the U niversity of Vilnius.
'• In this connection it leads someone to believe involuntarily th a t th e medical studies w ere a t th a t tim e the essence of th e w hole science and th e Doctor of Medicine degree entitled to lecture in any university dis cipline or th a t chem istry covered at th a t tim e a small body of inform a tion w hich everyone was able to lecture after a shorter or longer prepa ration. These doubts are still m ore supported by Adam Wrzosek, a prom inent historian of medicine and the au th o r of the m ajor m onograph on Jędrzej Śniadecki, who w rote of him w ith th e words: “He was no more gifted to nor had m ore interest in chem istry th an in other sciences. A fter he had finished the medical studies he became professor of chem istry m ainly because ... the position had been procured for him by his brother.” 2
It can be generally noticed th at A. Wrzosek emphasises the scientific 1 In form ation o n th e a lch em ic and ch em ica l in terests o f S ta n isla u s A u g u sts, on a ctiv ity o f S. O k raszew sk i; o n som e a lc h e m ic frau d s at th o s e tim es a n d on p ropagation o f a lch em y b y som e lod ges o f F reem ason ry can b e fo u n d in th e ar ticle: W łod zim ierz H ubicki, “B ackground and g en esis o f th e m a n u a l C h e m is tr y
a n d m in e ra lo g y by O k raszew sk i”, S tu d ia i M a te ria ły z D z ie jó w N a u k i P o ls k ie j,
S eria C, issu e 8, pp. 3-33, W arszaw a, 1964.
w ork of Śniadecki in the field of medicine and his social activities but he disregards Śniadecki almost entirely as a chemist. 3 And every reader a fte r a careful reading of the monography by Wrzosek w ill be right to believe th a t th e 25-year activity of Jędrzej Śniadecki as a professor of chem istry is due to a chance and to th e backing of his well-connected brother. However, this opinion is not right, nay, fa r from tru th , which can be found by a m ore careful study of th e course of th e dhemical stu dies of Śniadecki before he took on th e chair of the D epartm ent of Chem istry.
Towards the end of the 18th century chem istry could be studied es sentially only at the learning institutions of th e th ree kinds: 1\) at the faculties of medicine of some universities, 2) in th e schools of mining and m etallurgy in Banska Bystrica, Freiberg, Berlin and in Paris, 3) in the engineering m ilitary schools in Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and St. Petersburg. In each typ e of these schools chem istry was always a secondary subject or one of m any subjects and it was taught in a different aspect. Inde pendent of th e superior schools some priv ate courses of chem istry w ere organised by m any specialists in num erous towns of Europe. In the fac ulties of medicine of th e second half of th e 18th century at the m ajority of th e universities th e re w ere departm ents of n atu ra l history whose pro gram embraced lectures in chemistry, botany, zoology and mineralogy. As a result of this th e medical studies would offer also possibilities for specialising in any of those disciplines. A great m any outstanding chem ists, botanists, zoologists and m ineralogists of th a t time are known to have ju st medical background.
The first D epartm ent of Chem istry of th e Faculty of Philosophy, and not as before a t the Faculty of Medicine, was founded a t th e U niversity of Jena owing to th e endeavours of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, the cre ator of H ermann and Dorothea. In the Main Crown School in Cracow, the first professor of n atu ra l history and chem istry became Jan Jaśkie wicz in 1782. Two years la ter a sim ilar position in th e Main Lithuanian School in Vilnius was occupied by Joseph Sartoris, a scholar of Italian origin.
In taking care of the prospective appointm ents of professors for the educational institution th e National Education Commission w ould sent m any young m en abroad, w hich w ere promising from th e scientific point of view. Among those was also Ja n Śniadecki, brother of Jędrzej, older from th e la tter by tw elve years.
Ja n Śniadecki during his sojourn in Paris in 1780-1781 studied not only m athem atics and astronom y but was also a diligent auditor of the courses of chem istry headed by Macquer, Darcet, and Sage. Professor M acquer lectured in Jard in du Roi, and D arcet and Sage—in l’École de
3 W rong o p in io n on th e a c tiv itie s o f Ś n ia d eck i as a ch em ist ex p r e sse d by W rzosek u n fo rtu n a tely r eflects itse lf in th e su c c e ssiv e w ork s o f m a n y o th er h isto rians o f ch em istry.
Mines in Paris. All th ree w ere in opposition to Lavoisier’s ideas w ho refu ted the phlogiston theory. N evertheless Jan aniadecki, in sp ite of his m asters, appraised the im portance of th e discoveries made b y th a t g reat French chemist and according to his biographs, it was him who, as one of the first, would propagate th e nam e of Lavoisier in Poland. The young are always ready to follow new theories.
A fter his re tu rn to Cracow Jan Śniadecki kept in scientific touch w ith Paris. N either did he lose interest in chem istry as he was experi m enting at th a t tim e w ith balloons. B ut w h at m ay a baloon have to do w ith chem istry? Strange as it m ay seem th e re is much in common be tw een these facts.
The first baloon tests of Mongolfier brothers (in view of some great hopes set on them for their communication and m ilitary uses) from the very beginning had aroused in France some feverish interest in th e a t tem pts to find a suitable gas to fill the balloons w ith. The gas th a t would not be so inflamm able as hydrogen and would have a low specific gra vity, being at the same time cheaper th an hydrogen. And so, for instance, G uyton de M orveau attem pted to produce a hydrogen sub stitu te by destructive distillation of grain, maize, chestnut, bitum inous coal and other m aterial. As a result in th e A pril of 1784 he released a ballon filled up w ith w hat he called “gaz inflam m able des pommes de te rre s ”. The gas represented a m ixture of gases b u t which?—now it is difficult to fin d out.
As it results from a small book entitled Opisanie doświadczenia c zy nionego z banią powietrzną w K rakow ie (Description of th e experim ent m ade w ith an air balloon in Cracow) its authors and at th e same tim e th e constructors of the first balloons—Jan Śniadecki, Ja n Jaśkiewicz, Ja n Szaster and Franciszek Scheidt w ere also experim enting on th e pro duction of a gas th a t would replace hydrogen. Those “chemical and balloon problem s” of both th e French and the Cracovian professors
sprang from the state of knowledge in those days.
One could not y et tell hydrogen from hydrocarbons; in principle, an y gas th a t could burn was referred to as “inflammable air”, i.e. h y drogen.
It can be w ell understood th a t it m ight be anybody b u t n o t th e fif teen-year-old Jędrzej Śniadecki to miss w atching the first balloon exper im ents. The m ore so th at the chief inspirer of the air balloon experi m ents was his older brother. It was a t th a t tim e th a t th e vivid interest in chem istry arose in Jędrzej Śniadecki. To substantiate this point let us quote his own opinion he pronounced la te r on himself: “I m yself for the most p a rt owe my knowledge of chem istry to Jaśkiew icz and Scheidt.” 4 W hen the young Jędrzej Śniadecki began his studies in the Main Crown School Jaśkiewicz had not lectured th ere any longer; th a t
is, he m ust have taught Jędrzej privately earlier, w hen the la tte r w as still an alum nus of the Nowodworski school.
These data allow to infer th a t the direction of th e university studies of Jędrzej Śniadecki had practically been decided w hen he was still the pupil of the Nowodworski school. Early in the sum m er of 1787 Jan Śnia decki w ent again to France th at tim e w ith the idea to p u t his brother to l’École M ilitaire in Paris. It was no t for the young Jędrzej to fol low the m ilitary career as he did no t feel th e vocation b u t to study che m istry there.
The initial plans, however, had changed for com pletely unknow n reasons. D uring his b ro th er’s absence in this country Jędrzej Śniadecki finished w ith a n aw ard the high school and entered th e university as a scholarship holder, as a candidate for a high school teacher of physics and mathematics. But the unexpected arrival of his b ro th er from abroad changes the situation. Jędrzej gives up the scholarship and begins to stu dy medicine a t the Cracow University.
U ntil now there were no more details available on the studies of Jędrzej Śniadecki and on th e chemical laboratory in the College o f Physics. In the light of new ly discovered m aterials I am able to add some facts to this topic. D uring his four-year studies in th e Main CroWn School Śniadecki had attended to the following courses: in the school of mathematics—elem entary and higher mathematics, mechanics and prac tical mechanics; in the college of physics—n atu ral history including chem istry and botany, physics and astronom y; in th e school of medicine—anatom y, w ith physiology, pharm acy w ith its medical aspects, then surgery w ith o b stetrics.5
N atural history and chem istry was lectured in th e M ain Crown School a t th a t tim e b y Franciszek S c h eid t6—a chemist by industriousness, as seen from the level of his lectures, a physicist by interest, being as he is the author of th e book On Electricity, and a botanist by his enthusiasm, as evidenced by the Botanical G arden in Cracow and the volumes of the drawings made by Scheidt now kept in Bibliothek N ational in Vienna.
The chemical laboratory in the College of Physics initiated by Jaśkie wicz and finished by Scheidt comprised several rooms and a large hall in the middle of w hich th ere was a table. N ext in th e laboratory there stood a “docimastic balance in the black-wood lan tern ”, and a long description of this instrum ent in the inventory was a proof of its price and its value. By the w all there w ere two earthenw are furnaces for distillation as well as a balneum Mariae, that is, a w ater bath. Moreover some therm ome ters, eudiometers,, a barom eter m ade by Gelpi Bros, in Cracow, a
micro-5 R ecords o f th e J agiell. U niv., m s. 292.
6 More detailed information on th e activities of Scheidt can be found in th e article: W łodzimierz Hubicki, F ra n ciszek d e P au la S ch eid t, th e p io n e e r of th e L a
v o is ie r th e o r y in P o la n d , in. K się g a P a m ią tk o w a D ziesięcio lecia U n iw e r s y te tu M arii
scope of Sigaud de la Fond in Paris from 1751, retorts, cucurbites, flasks, dishes, alembics completed th e smalles laboratory equipment. 7
Now the most interesting are such items of the inventory as: thin tubes to the apparatus to air, flasks w ith side-arm s to air, retorts w ith •curved necks also to air “firing glass to th e chem ical experim ents a fte r P riestley’s prescriptions”—because th ey are, along w ith purchases of m a ny chemicals, th e proof that the Cracovian centre of the chemical know ledge at th a t time kept abreast of th e level of knowledge in Europe, and
the students w ere m ade acquainted both theoretically and experim ent ally w ith the problem s of contem porary chem istry, w ith the Lavoisier theory and w ith the components of air.
As it follows from the docum ents th a t I found, 8 Jędrzej Śniadecki was attending Scheldt’s lectures on the th ird and fourth y ear of his stu dies, but it is also likely th a t he was listening to these lectures on the firs t tw o years of his studies. Scheidt was a very scrupulous lecturer and he tried to convey to his disciples as m uch of the knowledge as he could. The contents of his lectures are know n from his own report.
Scheidt, like his predecessor Jan Jaśkiewicz, em phasised particularly the applied chem istry w ith a special glance a t m ineralogy an d m etallur gy. Much of th e tim e he would devote to “docimasy”, th a t is, th e che mical analysis of m inerals and alloys.
In order to obtain a full picture of th e level of th e chem ical studies in th e Main Crown School a m ention should be m ade of tw o books on chem istry, nam ely th a t published in 1787 in Cracow by Andrzej Trzciń ski entitled: Nauka o napuszczaniu w ody pow ietrzem kw a sko w ym (The A rt of Saturation of W ater w ith Acidulous Air) and another one published by Józef K rum łow ski entitled: Nauka Chymiczna... sławnego Jakóba Spielmanna (The Chemical Science of the Illustrious Jakób Spiel- m ann). The form er book is a collection of some fragm ents of the works of an English chem ist Joseph P riestley and of those of an Italian chem ist Felix Fontana. Andrzej Trzciński, professor of physics in the Main Crown School, a personality rath e r uninteresting in view of his notorious plots and denunciations, tried to explain to a Polish read er the contem porary concepts on gases. In the book in question oxygen bears th e nam e of “pure a ir’’, hydrogen—th a t of “inflam m able or fatty a ir”, carbon dioxide is called “fixed or acidulous a ir”, nitrogen— “saltp etre a ir”. Though Trzciński showed his apparent erudition in num erous com m entaries and quotations from th e literatu re The A rt of Saturation of W ater w ith Acidulous A ir failed to correspond to the state of knowledge on gases in 1787; for it failed to take into consideration th e latest achievem ents in chem istry in th a t field.
7 R ecords o f th e J a g iell. U niv., m s. 398 and m s. 489, part II. 8 Ibid., m s. 292/2, part II.
Józef Krumłowski was an apothecary in the town of Kazimierz, now a suburb of Cracow. The book of Spielm ann tran slated by him from Latin into Polish even in those times had already been out of date in both its form and contents. An unquestionable m erit of K rum łow ski has been his attem pt to develop a Polish chemical nom enclature.
In the spring of 1792 Jędrzej Śniadecki finishes his studies in Cracow bu t his plans of fu rth e r specialization in P aris lost its im portance as th e atm osphere in France is unquiet, it is ju st th e third anniversary of th e storm of the Bastille, people ta lk loudly about th e overthrow of th e king and the th re a t of the French-G erm an war.
As a centre of his fu rth er chemical and medical studies became Pavia in w hich not m any Poles w ere studying a t th e end of th e 18th century. Why did he choose Pavia then? Pavia, and not Bologna w here far m ore Poles studied, o r a less distant Vienna, or else any of th e German uni versities? The answ er is very simple.
The U niversity of Pavia, afte r th e reform s of M arie Therese and Joseph II, became famous throughout Europe in th e field of n atu ral sciences and medicine. It was Pavia that, following Paris perhaps, was the m ajor centre of the chemical science. The biographs of Śniadecki unanim ously enum erate the nam es of Sniadecki’s m asters, professors of medicine: Scarpa, Spalanzani, Frank, Carm inati, and th e professor of physics Alessandro Volta, overlooking completely th e chem ical studies of Śniadecki. B ut Śniadecki himself in a leter to his brother clearly w rites: “In Pavia I had an opportunity to learn as m uch chem istry as was neces sary to get an exact idea of th e current state of this science.” 9 Also from the le tter of Jędrzej Śniadecki we cam e to know th a t in Pavia he
had to prepare from chem istry to defend his doctorial thesis.
In P avia the chemical laboratory was organized in 1776-1778 by Gio vanni Antonio Scopoli, professor of chem istry and botany, form erly a chem istry and m ineralogy teacher for m any years in the School of Mining in Banska Bistrica; extrem ely industrious and very active, w ith his enthusiasm for chem istry, had infected m any university colleagues
who w ere in charge of other departm ents.
And so th e professor of n atu ra l history Lazzaro Spalanzani worked enthusiastically in the field th a t now could be nam ed physiological chem istry and published a book On the Chemical Exam ination of the Gottling Experim ents. Professor of medicine Pietro Moscatti among other things worked on th e composition of w ater and on m ercury phosphate, and would w rite articles on th e chemical nomenclature. It is to be noted here tha Jędrzej Śniadecki carried on his medical training during his va cation in 1792 in a hospital in Milan under th e guidance of this same Moscatti who was the head of the hospital. Basiano Carm inati, professor
of therapeutics and pharmacology, devoted his tim e to th e studies o n th e chemical analysis of blood and on the chemical n a tu re of stomach juices. Even professor of m athem atics George Fontana dealt w ith th e distilla tion of essential oils. A nd also Alessandro V olta was experim enting w ith enthusiasm in chem istry, and th e proof of it m ay be his discovery of m ethane and m any papers th a t he published on hydrogen and th e com position of w ater. Incidentally I w ill m ention here of some “plots” and endeavours for Volta to take on th e ch air of th e Physics departm ent in Vilnius.
Among th e professors of th e U niversity of P avia showing a lively interest in chem istry th e re m ust have been also V alentino B ursati as it was him w ho was in charge of th e chem ical laboratory on th e death of Scopoli. Finally one should not overlook here Johann P. Frank, who iso lated sugar from th e urine of diabetics. He identified i t b y alcoholic and acetic ferm entation followed by oxidation to oxalic acid in th e final stagje. I t was th e topic of his investigations at th e tim e w hen Jędrzej Śniadecki was in Pavia. L ater F rank became professor of m edicine in V ienna an d then in Vilnius. As it can be seen from the above data th e m ajority of Pavian professors dealt w ith chem istry. Of all the professors of1, medicine in P avia perhaps only one was not engaged in chem istry, the anatom ist and surgeon, Antonio Scarpa.
It should be borne in mind, however, th a t th e most outstanding chem ist of the U niversity of P avia of th e tim es w hen Śniadecki was stu dying there, was Ludovigo Brugnatelli w ho was th e n vice-professor of chemistry. He was immensely active in his investigations and literally untiring in propagating th e chemical and physical science in Italy. He was an organizer and editor of several scientific periodicals, among oth ers Annali di Chimica and Bibliotheca Fisica, and k ep t closely in touch w ith chemists of France an d of England. He was th e au th o r of m anuals on chem istry an d w rote some several scores of papers published largely in his ow n press. His co-authorship of new chemical nom enclature should also be mentioned.
A t th e same tim e in Pavia there w ere appearing num erous transla tions of chemical books, particularly from French, of w hich especially, one, Chemical Philosophy by Antoine F o u rcro y 10 had m ade a great commotion in th e chemical world. And th e first and forem ost desire of Śniadecki on his graduation w ith a degree of doctor philosophy and m edicine from the U niversity of P avia was to go to P aris w ith th e purpose to get to know th a t French scientist and possibly to tak e privately his course of chem istry.
A ntoine Fourcroy, professor of chem istry a t th e Jard in du Roi in 10 T h e b ook o f F ourcroy ap p eared in P o la n d tra n sla ted b y Jan G w a lb ert B y strzyck i, F ilo zo fia C h im iczn a , c z y li fu n d a m e n ta ln e p r a w d y te r a ż n ie y s z e y c h im ii,
Paris, was a n excellent experim entor and extrem ely active propagator and organizer in the field of chem istry. 11 He founded the chemical pe riodical Annales de Chimie and would rank at those times among the outstanding French chemists together w ith Lavoisier. He was a Jacobin an d on the death of M arat he was elected a Convent m em ber to replace him. Since 1793 he gave up his scientific w ork lim ited his instruction devoting almost all his tim e to the state affairs. Reorganization of th e Academy of Science and of oth er scientific societies is also th e m erit of this man, who also removed a num ber of their m em bers alleged enemies of th e Revolution. He headed the S tate Defence Committee whose task w as to develop novel m ethods for production of gun powder and new w ays of the melting of church bells to obtain some alloys suitable for
the m anufacturing of guns.
Jędrzej Śniadecki had planned to sojourn in Paris for a couple of weeks, w hich w ould indicate th a t th e decided to take th e course on gases, th e ir physical and chemical properties, offered by Fourcroy p ri vately. B ut since 1793 Fourcroy had given up this course, beginning in stead lectures on m anufacturing of saltpetre, gun powder, and guns. Snadecki came to know this fact w hile in Genoa, maybe even directly from the correspondence w ith Fourcroy himself. For th at reason Śnia decki gives up th e idea of going to Paris and he travels instead through Sw itzerland and G erm any to England.
As a place of his fu rth er studies he chose Edinburgh, th e scientific centre of Scotland. He was actuated by a wish to get acquainted in m ore detail w ith the theory of stim ulation created by John Brown, an Edinburgh physician who had already been dead a t th e tim e Śniadecki came to Scotland. It is believed th a t in 1793, th a t is, w hen he was still in Pavia, Śniadecki m ay have w ritten a treatise relating to th e theory of stim ulation, but th e sim ilar w riting is not known to bibliographers. Instead th ere is a book entitled: In principio theoriae Brunonianae ani- madversiones published in 1793 in Pavia under th e pseudonym of Jac. Sacchi. The authorship of this book is usually ascribed to Carminati, though it m ay seem strange th a t a U niversity professor would w rap his opinions in a shroud of m ystery. I believe th at it would be w orthw ile to ascertain w hether the treatise has not been w ritten by Śniadecki himself.
In Edinburgh the m ain professor of chem istry was Joseph Black, th e famous discoverer of the reaction of “fixed a ir” now referred to as car bon dioxide, of laten t heat, etc. In his declarations Fourcroy would em phasise the fundam ental m eaning of Black’s discoveries for the develop m ent of chemical theories. W hen Śniadecki stayed in Edinburgh Black
11 A n e x te n s iv e m onograph b y F ourcroy w a s p u b lish ed in E n glish by W. A. S m eaton. F ou rcroy— C h e m ist a n d R e v o lu tio n a ry , C am bridge, 1962.
had already abandoned research but became a lectu rer w ith such a suc- ces th a t crowds of students would come to his lectures. He spoke in a simple, clear way, and w h at is m ore im portant, his lectures w ere illustrated by dem onstrations. Besides he also disposed of a large, w ell- equipped chemical laboratory. It is obvious th a t Jędrzej Śniadecki, who in th e words of his bro ther J a n “in chem istry and m edicine w as train ed abroad u nder great, em inent m en”, m ust have attended Black’s lectures. As it seems, it was professor Black who became a model le ctu rer in chem istry for Śniadecki.
A fter his tw;o-year sojourn on th e B ritish Isles Jędrzej Śniadecki moves to V ienna in 1795, w here he lived a t th e house of Johann P e te r F rank w ho was a t th a t tim e professor a t th e U niversity of Vienna. In th a t to w n he also m et w ith tw o contemporarily famous chemists Jacquin; Nicolas Jacquin, Senior, was professor of chem istry and botany at the U niversity of Vienna, w hile his son, Joseph, was vice-professor of chem istry there. Supposedly the latter, a contem porary of Jędrzej Śnia decki, m ust have told him a numiber of interesting details and expe riences as he had ju st come back from a scientific travel, having had visited famous chem ical centres of Europe. In V ienna the scientific jour neys of Jędrzej Śniadecki come to an end.
He comes back to Poland in th e spring of 1796, afte r th e 3rd p a rti tion. Unexpected changes th a t he found th e re m ade him th in k of no prospects for any position adequate to his studies. Y et in th e following y ear he assumed th e chair of the D epartm ent of Chem istry in Vilnius. Obviously th e exertions of his brother Jan had helped him in it—as A. Wrzosek argues—b u t th e m ost im portant w as th e professional tra in
ing in th e field th a t Śniadecki possessed.
Śniadecki had p u t much w ork and efforts to a thorough command of th e subject th a t he was to lecture. To support this th ere is an in ter esting proof a y a ilab le 12 in th e form of a list of books offered in 1808 by Jędrzej Śniadecki to th e Library of th e U niversity of V ilnius—th e document is preserved till the present day. The list comprises 122 items including 89 books on chem istry and tw o titles of chemical periodicals. By supplem enting th e books’ titles w ith the probable years of th e ir p ub lication it is easy to ascertain th a t all th e books donated to th e Li b rary w ere published before 1797. The books w ere p a rtly ordered from abroad by Jan Śniadecki and m ostly bought by Jędrzej in this country an d abroad w hen he studied there. Among these th ere are m any-volum e works by th e m ost em inent chemists of th e 18th century, such as Priestley, Macquer, Lavoisier, Fourcroy, Chaptal, and others. The list contains also 39 volumes of th e French chemical journal Annales de Chimie, founded in 1789. It can be easily verified th a t till 1797 w ere
12 J a g iell. L ibrary, m s. 3137.
issued 27 volumes of this periodical and till 1808—64 volumes; thus it can be surely in ferred th a t Śniadecki subscribed to th a t periodical even before he assumed th e chair a t th e U niversity of Vilnius. I t is very u n likely th a t all volumes of Annales de Chim ie should be bought by Śnia
decki a t all a time.
In connection w ith th e foregoing list of books I should like to call atten tio n to th e fact th a t A. W rzosek in his m onograph of Śniadecki erroneously w rites th a t th e books w ere borrow ed by him 13 from th e Li brary of th e U niversity of Vilnius, before th e preparation of the second edition of th e m anual of chem istry in 1807.
One m ore proof of th e careful p reparation of Śniadecki to the pro spective university career, contrary to th e suggestions by Wrzosek, is th e course program published by Jędrzej Śniadecki as early as 1797.14
The program for th a t y ear along w ith th e one p rep ared for the fol lowing year have th e same basic idea like the general tren d of the chem istry m anual th a t appeared th ree years latter, th a t is, in the year of 1800. This clearly indicates th a t th e w hole tw o-year course of chemis try had already been considered and carefully elaborated before Jędrzej Śniadecki began his lectures. It is w orthy to rem ind th a t J. Śniadecki has for th e first tim e introduced Polish as th e lecture language a t th e Vilnius U niversity. His predecessor in th e D epartm ent, Joseph Sartoris, lectured the chem istry course in Latin.
N early a t th e very beginning of his activity in V ilnius Śniadecki brings from abroad some rare m inerals such as strontianite, chromite, gadolinite, and others, and not w ith th e aim to enlarge th e geological collection b u t to derive from them the recently discovered elements like strontium , chromium, y ttriu m and cerium. His unfo rtu n ate work on th e discovery of an elem ent vestium in chrude platinum convincingly shows th a t he was interested in th e most c u rren t problem s of those times. The elements from the platinum group; palladium , rhodium , iridium, and osmium have been discovered in th e years 1803-1804 by Wollastone and Thenandt. All these facts therefore indicate th a t Jędrzej Śniadecki not only was adequately p rep ared to become head of th e D epartm ent of Chemistry, b u t he was also a t the sam e tim e (here again contrary to WrzosSk’s opinion) a chem ist by vocation. The protective role of his brother consisted in a financial support th a t Jędrzej needed while study ing in this country and abroad, th en in helping him to get the university chair, for which Jędrzej Śniadecki was fully qualified. Thus, n eith er chance nor protection did play any particular role here. That is tru e th at after 1808 J. Śniadecki had actually changed his m ain interests to medicine b ut this was conditioned by several reasons of a different nature.
18 A dam Wirzosek, loc. cit., vol. II, p. 313.
14 W ład ysław L eppert, R y s r o z w o ju c h e m ii w P o lsce do ro k u 1830 (A Short H i story o f C h e m is tr y in P olan d t ill 1830), W arszaw a, 1917, p. 211.
Śniadecki has ended the preface to th e first edition of Początki Chemii (Rudiments of Chemisty) w ith the following words: “All faculties be come useful only when the truths, to th e discovery and a thorough learning of w hich they w ere applied, can be used to the advantage of the society; and herein chem istry is m ore fo rtu n ate th an other sciences.” In such a w ay only a keen chem ist could speak!
In th e end of th e present essay on th e chemical studies of Jędrzej Śniadecki a t least a short account should be m ade of his m erits and achievem ents for th e chem istry in Poland. As I have already mentioned, in 1800 was published the m anual: Rudim ents o f C hem istry according to the current state of this science, compiled for the benefit of students and pupils, to be used as a model of academic lectures, by Jędrzej Śniadecki, doctor of philosophy and m edicine, ordinary public professor of chem is tr y and pharmacy in the Main Lithuanian School.
The title com pletely corresponded to th e tru th . This tw o-volum e book comprised a brief outline of chemistry, presented according to th e highest standards of th e year in w hich it w as published. I t has been tihe first original university m anual in the field of chem istry th a t ev er a p peared in Polish. The benefits th a t came from th e use of th a t m anual for Sniadectki’s pupils, w ere really enormous, about w hich th ere is no question. In the m anual Śniadecki quotes several scores of contem porary authors citing th e ir most recent ideas and discoveries, indicating th e re by th e inform ation sources th a t formed th e basis for his manual.
Śniadecki developed Polish chemical nom enclature—th e logical vo cabulary w ith an account of th e latest developments of th e chem istry joontemporary to him. The Polish m anual used previously w hich ap peared only 9 years sooner Chemical science of the fam ous Jakób Spiel-
m ann, a Strassbourger professor, w ritten according to the academic lectures, translated from Latin into Polish by Józef K rum low ski, an apothecary in the tow n of Kazim ierz near Cracow—in comparison w ith th e m anual by Sniadedki, i t seems to be a n anachronism an d a relic of a past, remote epoch, and th e attem p t to polonize particular nam es for substances and chemical terms;, despite laudable efforts of Krumlowski th a t appear in Chemical Science, are almost ridiculous and yielding no precedence in all respects to the nom enclature of Śniadecki.
From the very beginning th e lectures of Sniadedki gained a great po p u la rity and not only among the academic youth. I w ill quote here an excerpt from the memoires of one of SniadeCki’s pupils. O tto Sliażen: “B ut how nice was th a t our professor, A ndrzej Śniadecki. How ch ar m ing was his lectu re of chem istry, how m ild his elocution! The chemis try hall was ample, round-shaped, w ith th e desks so arranged as to form a theatre. Large audience w ould fill th e hall from below upw ards to th e very walls. Below, over a long table covered w ith various chem ical equipment, w ould sit over a book and a copy-book a serious,
w hite-haired old man, a pedantic stickler for cleanliness, w ith a sweet a ir on his face; in his smile and eyes th ere was shown gaiety and a h in t of a w itty irony. In general all his personality even w ith his big, aquiline nose, was extrem ely likable. In th e m idst of a large audience not even the lightest sound could be heard. Everybody’s eyes and ears w ere di rected w ith great attention down to th e place w here was sitting w ith his professor’s dignity. He seemed to speak in a half-low voice and each single w ord of his fell distinctly w ith a pleasant tone into th e most d istant ear. By his profound 'knowledge of and in terest in his subject he managed to call the attentio n of th e students and to incite in them liking to th e science th a t he lectured. Sometimes one w ould come to th e lecture w ith a cold indifference or even w ith a feeling of dislike b u t shortly on th e appearing of Śniadecki, on th e first hearing of his m uf fled voice, the indifference and th e reluctance would vanish, one woul be aroused by an increasingly alive interest, and as soon as the hour was over one w ould regret th a t th e lecture is finished, desiring so much to keep on listening somewhat longer to th a t quiet organ of th e learned old one ”.15
In a y ear’s tim e th e chem istry course of Śniadecki was attended by some tw o hundred and tw en ty students. The lectures w ould take tw o yearsi, six hours weekly. M oreover th e students did th e laboratory experim ents, though not too m any units of it. Each stu d en t after each sem ester of th e chem istry course, had to take a n exam ination w ith th e professor; all in all one would appear to th e professor a t leasit four times during th e period of one’s studies. Thus th e didactic load of th e profes sor was enormous, w hich stands o u t even m ore if one takes into account th e fact th a t Śniadecki in th e first years of this w ork had only one “la- borator”, i.e. assistant, and as late as by th e end of his activity in the Chem istry D epartm ent he was helped b y tw o employees.
A trem endous didactic load is one of th e reasons w hy Śniadecki pu blished only several papers of a chemical character from his own re search and observations. It is a fact how ever th a t Śniadecki would spend m uch tim e in th e chemical laboratory till th e end of his career as che- m istry professor, th a t is, till 1822, th e b est proof being th e paper th a t appeared in 1822 on the analysis of m eteorite: “On the iron of th e Rze czyca m eteorite” (Dziennik W ileński, vol. I). This w ork clearly indicates th a t Śniadecki was a very good analyst. And th e fact th a t in 1806 the new elem ent of th e platinum group erroneously discovered by Śniadecki, nam ed by him vestium , was questioned by French chemists, it does not
detract from his m erits as a chemist.
Yet among th e m erits of the highest ran k th at Śniadecki made is first of all the education of a great m any of his followers. From his
laboratory came out: F ryderyk Wolfgang, Ignacy Fonberg, M arek P aw ło wicz, Ignacy Domeyko, Michał Oczapowski etc. L ater th ey took on the university chairs in the following towns: Vilnius, W arsaw, Kiev, St. P e tersburg, and in the distant Santiago de Chile. Jędrzej Śniadecki was a scientist w ho perm anently has immortalized his nam e on the pages of th e history of Polish chemistry.
