Jan Krzysztof Kluk (September 13, 1739 – July 2, 1796) was a Polish naturalist

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

and entomologist. He was the son of Jan Krzysztof Adrian and Marianna Elżbieta. His father, an impoverished nobleman, was a building contractor and architect, mainly of churches. Jan Krzysztof Kluk went to school in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, later in

Drohiczyn Drohiczyn () ( lt, Drohičinas/Drogičinas, be, Дарагічын, ua, Дорогочин, Дорогичин, ''Dorohochyn'', ''Dorohychyn'') is a town in Siemiatycze County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. The town has a population of 2,11 ...

, and finally in the

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...

s school in

Łuków Łuków is a city in eastern Poland with 30,727 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2005). Since 1999, it has been situated in the Lublin Voivodeship, previously it had belonged to the Siedlce Voivodeship (between 1975–1998). It is the capital of � ...

. In 1763 he finished the Missionary seminary in the

Holy Cross Church, Warsaw The Church of the Holy Cross ( pl, Bazylika Świętego Krzyża) is a Roman Catholic house of worship in Warsaw, Poland. Located on ''Krakowskie Przedmieście'' opposite the main Warsaw University campus, it is one of the most notable Baroque chur ...

. From 1763–67 he was a

domestic chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

attached to the noble household of Tomasz Ossoliński, the starosta of Nur. From 1767–70 he was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Winna. He later became vicar of the parish of Ciechanowiec, a position he kept until his death. He was a man with universal interests, but known mostly as a naturalist studying mainly the regions of

Podlaskie Podlaskie Voivodeship or Podlasie Province ( pl, Województwo podlaskie, ) is a voivodeship (province) in northeastern Poland. The name of the province and its territory correspond to the historic region of Podlachia. The capital and largest ci ...

and

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

. He was a very able draftsman and engraver, which permitted him to illustrate his own later works. Princess

Anna Jabłonowska Princess Anna Paulina Jabłonowska (22 June 1728, Wołpa - 7 February 1800, Ostroróg coat of arms), was a Polish magnate and politician. She was known for her remarkable activity on her estates, in which she introduced social inventions as wel ...

gave him access to the great library and natural science collections in her palace of

Siemiatycze Siemiatycze ( uk, Сім'ятичі ''Simiatychi'', be, Сямятычы ''Siamiatyčy'') is a town in eastern Poland, with 15,209 inhabitants (2004). It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Białystok V ...

. Many of his published works were breakthroughs in contemporary Polish natural science and agriculture. He spent most of his life in

Ciechanowiec Ciechanowiec (; yi, טשעכֿאַנאָװיץ, german: Rudelstadt) is a small town in Gmina Ciechanowiec, Wysokie Mazowieckie County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, eastern Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,511. History In the ...

where he died. He was a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

, and vicar of Ciechanowiec. Kluk described several

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

of Lepidoptera including the Holarctic ''

Nymphalis ''Nymphalis'', commonly known as the tortoiseshells or anglewing butterflies, is a genus of brush-footed butterflies. The genera '' Aglais'', ''Inachis'', ''Polygonia'' and '' Kaniska'', were sometimes included as subgenera of ''Nymphalis''

'', the South American genus ''

Heliconius ''Heliconius'' comprises a colorful and widespread genus of brush-footed butterflies commonly known as the longwings or heliconians. This genus is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from South America ...

'', and the genus '' Danaus'' in which is placed the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

. There is a Krzysztof Kluk Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec.

Works

He wrote a multi-volume work ''Zwierząt domowych i dzikich, osobliwie krajowych historii naturalnej początki i gospodarstwo'' (in English The natural history of domestic and (Polish) wild animals and of farm animals) published in Warsaw in 1780. Another notable Kluk work was the three volumes entitled ''Dykcjonarz roślinny…'' (English: The Dictionary of Plants), published from 1786 to 1788 in Warsaw (volume I – 1786, volume II – 1787, volume III – 1788). The Dictionary contains entries in Latin alphabetical order that comprise 1 536 species of plants of Polish and foreign origin. Importantly, not only Latin but also Polish names were given.

Publications about Jan Krzysztof Kluk

Prof. Gabriel Brzęk wrote several biographical books about Jan Krzysztof Kluk: * ''Krzysztof Kluk jako szermierz postępowych idei społecznych polskiego Oświecenia'' (1958) * ''Krzysztof Kluk (1739–1796) jako przyrodnik polskiego oświecenia'' (1973) * ''Krzysztof Kluk'' (1977)

References

External links

* 1739 births 1796 deaths 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian Roman Catholic priests Polish entomologists Polish naturalists Catholic clergy scientists People from Ciechanowiec {{Entomologist-stub

Works

Publications about Jan Krzysztof Kluk

See also

References

External links