Ignacy Nurkiewicz (November 2, 1887 – September 16, 1972) was a Polish engineer, a member of the
Polish American Congress
The Polish American Congress (PAC) is an American umbrella organization of Polish-Americans and Polish-American organizations.
Its members include individuals as well as fraternal, educational, veterans, religious, cultural, social, business, and ...
, as well as two-time president and one of the founders of the
Józef Piłsudski Institute of America
The Józef Piłsudski Institute of America (full name: Józef Piłsudski Institute of America for Research in the Modern History of Poland) is a museum and research center devoted to the study of modern Polish history and named after the Polish in ...
.
Biography
Nurkiewicz was born on November 2, 1887, in Poland. In 1900, he came to the United States and settled in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. He finished engineering at the
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...
in New York. In 1920, he started a factory of metal products, especially extinguishers, which was eventually turned into one of the biggest firms of this type (Stop Fire) in the United States.
He was active in many Polish-American organizations. Among others, he served as vice-president of the committee lobbying to move the King Jagiełło Monument from the Polish Pavilion of the
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitio ...
to
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, New York City. In 1942, he took part in the assembly of the Józef Piłsudski Polish Defense Alliance.
In 1943, he was one of the founders of the
Józef Piłsudski Institute of America
The Józef Piłsudski Institute of America (full name: Józef Piłsudski Institute of America for Research in the Modern History of Poland) is a museum and research center devoted to the study of modern Polish history and named after the Polish in ...
, after which he worked for the
Polish American Congress
The Polish American Congress (PAC) is an American umbrella organization of Polish-Americans and Polish-American organizations.
Its members include individuals as well as fraternal, educational, veterans, religious, cultural, social, business, and ...
, where he was responsible for immigrant affairs (worked much for the benefit of the so-called "Displaced Persons" in Germany).
In the years 1949–51 he was the treasurer of the Piłsudski Institute. In 1954 he was named Marshal of the Pułaski Parade. In 1954–1955, he served as president of the institute. Next, he became its vice-president (1963–1964), treasurer (1964–1965) and president once again (1965–1966).
Nurkiewicz died on September 16, 1972, in