August Chełkowski (, 27 February 1927 – 31 October 1999) was a prominent

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and politician. Born in the small village of Telkwice, then in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

(then a part of

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

) he was a son of Franciszek Chełkowski, a wealthy landowner and prominent activist of the Polish community in Prussia and his wife Emilia (maiden name Mieczkowska). He was related to a number of other Polish activists by his maternal side. He was a 1948 graduate of the prestigious

Karol Marcinkowski Karol Marcinkowski (23 June 1800 in Posen, Kingdom of Prussia, today Poznań in Poland–6 November 1846) was a Polish physician, social activist in the Greater Poland region (also called the Grand Duchy of Posen), supporter of the basic educa ...

Lycee in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

(commonly known as ''Marcinek'') and

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań The Adam Mickiewicz University (; Latin: ''Universitas Studiorum Mickiewicziana Posnaniensis'') is a research university in Poznań, Poland. Due to its history, the university is traditionally considered among Poland's most reputable institution ...

. He earned his MSc degree (''magister'') in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

in 1952 and his PhD (''doktorat'') in 1958. Although he was a Poznanian, he relocated permanently to Katowice in 1967, together with a number of other scientists from Poznan. In 1968, when the University of Silesia was established, Chelkowski, along with other scientists from Poznan, established that University's Physics Institute, which was named after him in 2000. He went to become a professor of the

University of Silesia in Katowice The University of Silesia in Katowice () is an autonomous state-run university in Katowice, Silesia Province, Poland. The university offers higher education and research facilities. It offers undergraduate, masters, and PhD degree programs, ...

in 1973 and a higher ranking professor (''professor zwyczajny'') in 1990. He served as the Rector of the University of Silesia in Katowice from 1 September 1981 until 12 January 1982, when he was dismissed by the then minister of higher education for political reasons. He was an author of a number of works on physics. In 1980 he became a member of the

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

and an active figure of the opposition. He was the only president of any Polish university to be arrested during the

Martial Law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

. After the fall of communism, he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from the Solidarity list and served until his death. He served as a Senate Marshal during Senate 2nd term (23 December 1991 – 16 October 1993).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelkowski, August 1927 births 1999 deaths Senat Marshals University of Silesia in Katowice alumni Members of the Senate of Poland 1989–1991 Members of the Senate of Poland 1991–1993 Members of the Senate of Poland 1993–1997 Members of the Senate of Poland 1997–2001 20th-century Polish physicists