Janusz Tazbir (August 5, 1927 – May 3, 2016 ) was a Polish historian, specializing in the culture and religion of Poland in the 16th and 17th centuries. He was the Polish-side Chairman of German-Polish Textbook Commission from 1991 to 1997.

Career

Tazbir was a foremost specialist in Old Polish history, and author of over 1000 publications. One of his most famous publications is ''Państwo bez stosów'' (A country without stakes) published in 1967. He has also written works popularizing history, as well as on

history of literature The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment, enlightenment, or instruction to the reader/listener/observer, as well as the development of the literary techniques ...

. His works have been translated into foreign languages, including English and French. In 1950 he received an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

at the Humanities Department of the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

. In 1954 he received his Ph.D. and six years later he

habilitated Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

. He was

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the annual

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

''Odrodzenie i reformacja w Polsce'' (The Renaissance and Reformation in Poland) since 1965, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences ( pl, Polska Akademia Nauk, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society o ...

Institute of History since 1966 (he was the director of the Institute from 1983 to 1990). He was a full

since 1973 and a member of

(Polska Akademia Nauk) since 1989. He was also the leader of the Science Council of

Polski Słownik Biograficzny ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigners ...

(Polish Biographical Dictionary).

Career

Works