Czesław Ścisłowski (Polish: tsheh'swahv shtshes'wohv'skee �͡ʂɛslaf st͡ɕislɔfskʲi May 22, 1904–August 12, 1971) was a Polish physicist, educator, university professor, author of school books and science articles, the initiator and organizer of

International Physics Olympiad The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967. Each national delegation is made up of a ...

for high school students. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was the principal teacher of the science class at the Stefan Batory High School in Warsaw, many of whose students became wartime resistance heroes.

Life and career

Czesław Ścisłowski was born May 22, 1904, in Mogielnica, central Poland, then under imposed Russian rule, as the only child of fruit farmer and entrepreneur Franciszek Ścisłowski and Franciszka Ścisłowska, née Podogrodzka. In 1924, he graduated from the Władysław Giżycki High School in Warsaw. He took part in amateur theater performances and played the violin. In 1930, Ścisłowski obtained the M.Sc. degree in physics from the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

and began his career as a high school teacher. In 1937-39 he was physics teacher at the Stefan Batory High School in Warsaw, many of whose students fought in the resistance against the Nazi German occupation of Poland during

. In the 1943 so-called

Operation Arsenal The Operation Arsenal (), code name: "Meksyk II" (''Mexico 2''), was the first major operation by the Gray Ranks, Polish Underground formation during the Nazi German occupation of Poland. It took place on March 26, 1943 in Warsaw. Its name was ...

, Tadeusz Zawadzki "Zośka" and Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski "Alek" took part in the daring action to free their former classmate Jan Bytnar "Rudy" from Nazi hands. During the war Ścisłowski taught clandestine classes in Warsaw and in nearby towns. After the war he returned to the Stefan Batory High School for two years, as teacher and deputy headmaster, and then took a job teaching physics at the Warsaw Technical University. Ścisłowski was author and co-author of physics textbooks for primary and high schools. In 1949, the deputy education minister of the communist government of the time,

Henryk Jabłoński Henryk Jan Jabłoński (; 27 December 1909 – 27 January 2003) was a Polish historian and politician. After 1948, he became a politician of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party, as well as a historian and professor at Warsaw University. He s ...

, criticized the textbooks for referring too much to U.S. and British scientists and inventors rather than to Polish or Soviet ones. In 1959, Ścisłowski obtained doctor's degree in physics from the

. He was member of the

Polish Physical Society The Polish Physical Society (, PTF) is a professional scientific society of Polish physicists. History The Polish Physical Society was established during an organizational meeting on 11 April 1920 in Warsaw. Władysław Natanson was appointed the ...

. Starting in 1951, Ścisłowski organized all-Poland Physics Olympiads and in 1967 he organized in Warsaw the first International Physics Olympiad of which he was the originator. The participants came from the East Bloc: Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland. With time, other countries joined in the olympiads, which now span the globe. He was active professionally until his sudden death on Aug.12, 1971. His resting place is at the

Bródno Cemetery :''You may also be looking for the Bródno Jewish Cemetery.'' Bródno cemetery () is an old cemetery in the Targówek district, in the eastern part of Warsaw, Poland. Occupying an area of , it is the largest cemetery in Warsaw. With more than 1 ...

in Warsaw.

Awards and honours

In 1992, Ścisłowski was awarded a medal by the International Commission on Physics Education for "outstanding contribution to physics education." In awarding the medal, the commission recognized that it was "primarily as a result of his efforts that the first International Physics Olympiad was held in Poland in 1967 under the aegis of the Polish Physical Society."

References

Sources

* Zdzisław Szeląg "Słownik wiedzy o grójeckim" volume II Towarzystwo Literackie im. Adama Mickiewicza w Grójcu 1994 * Cz. F. zesław Fotyma"Dr Czesław Ścisłowski nie żyje" Fizyka w szkole 1971 number 6 pages 58–59 Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Oświaty i Szkolnictwa Wyższego - Państwowe Zakłady Wydawnictw Szkolnych 1971 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ścisłowski, Czesław 1904 births 1971 deaths University of Warsaw alumni 20th-century Polish physicists