Izabela Abramowicz (9 November 1889, Lutosławice – 22 January 1973,

Łęczyca Łęczyca (; in full the Royal Town of Łęczyca, ; ; ) is a town of inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County. Łęczyca is a capital of the historical Łęczyca Land. Or ...

) was a Polish

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

and mathematics educator. She was honoured with the Knight's Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

for her services to mathematical education.

Life

Izabela Abramowicz was born in 1889 in Lutosławice, Congress Poland (then part of the Russian empire), to Tomasz Franciszek Abramowicz, a school teacher, and Maria Petronela (née Gniotek). She had two brothers,

Kazimierz Kazimierz (; ; ) is a historical district of Kraków and Kraków Old Town, Poland. From its inception in the 14th century to the early 19th century, Kazimierz was an independent city, a royal city of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, located sou ...

(who would also become a mathematician) and Zygmunt. Abramowicz graduated from the State Gymnasium in

Bobrujsk Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina River. Babruysk occ ...

in 1907. She attended the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the Saint Vladimir University in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, obtaining an undergraduate degree with a gold medal for her thesis ''On double integrals on algebraic surfaces''. Her dissertation supervisor was Boris Yakovlevich Bukreev. She received consent from the Minister of Education to remain at the university without a stipend to prepare for her master's degree, the requirements for which she had almost fulfilled in 1918. In 1923, she moved to

, near Poznań, where she stayed till the Second World War. During the German occupation of Poland, between 1942 and 1944, she was arrested and made to work at various factories in Poznań and Luboń. After the war, she returned to Poznań. Abramowicz died on 22 January 1973, and was interred at the parish church in Wiry.

Career

Between 1917 and 1920, Abramowicz was a docent at the Polish University College in Kyiv. This had been set up in 1916 to teach humanities, but expanded later to allow mathematics and the sciences. Its faculty comprised Polish academics teaching at Russian universities. Abramowicz was one of two women in the faculty. She also taught in three local gymnasiums. In 1923, Abramowicz started work as a math teacher at the State Junior High School in Wolsztyn. In the years 1924–1939, she was a teacher of mathematics at the General Zamoyski State Gymnasium 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 ...

. Abramowicz was a member of the Polish Scientific Society in Kyiv. She attended three mathematical conferences: the 1st Polish Mathematical Congress in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(1927), the 1st Congress of Mathematicians of Slavic Countries in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

(1929) and the 2nd Polish Mathematical Congress in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

(1931). Following the end of the war, she taught mathematics at the Zamoyski State Gymnasium till 1953, after which she worked at the Adam Mickiewicz High School, retiring in 1968. For her services to education, Abramowicz was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abramowicz, Izabela 20th-century Polish mathematicians 1889 births 1973 deaths Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Polish women mathematicians Polish mathematics educators Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta 20th-century Polish women