Tadeusz Wróblewski
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Tadeusz Stanisław Wróblewski (8 November 1858 – 3 July 1925) was a Polish
noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...
, politician, lawyer,
bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...
and cultural activist. He supported the democratic wing of the
Krajowcy The ''Krajowcy'' (, ''Fellow Countrymen'' or ''Natives''; , ) were a group of mainly Polish-speaking intellectuals from the Vilnius Region who, at the beginning of the 20th century, opposed the division of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonw ...
movement and founded the Wróblewski Library 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 ...
.


Biography

Tadeusz Wróblewski was born to a family of a famous homeopathic doctor. His uncle Walery Antoni Wróblewski was one of the Polish
January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
(1863–1864) leaders in
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and later General of the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
(1871). After graduating from the Gymnasium in Vilna, Wróblewski did not have a chance to get a doctor's diploma because he was expelled from
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
surgical-medical academy and later from the
University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...
for participation in revolutionary organizations. In 1884 he was exiled to Siberia for such revolutionary activities. Few years after he was released from exile in
Tobolsk Governorate Tobolsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic and Russian SFSR located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its seat was in the city of Tobolsk, ...
, Wróblewski took equivalence examination and graduated from
St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...
with a master's in law. For some time he was working as an assistant to a lawyer in Saint Petersburg. After his father's death in 1891 he came back to Vilna. His father left him a library, which Wróblewski further expanded using most of his inherited wealth and a great part of his income as a lawyer. His main interest was Lithuanian history and especially Vilna history. The library had a large collection of valuable
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has ...
s, maps, documents, plans, photographs, postcards, linotypes and various museum artifacts. In 1907 he acquired Plater family collection, including a large art collection. Wróblewski succeeded in acquiring an extensive collection of Lithuanian Free masons lodge. Major portions of this collection were acquired from Henryk Tartura from Minsk, Russian writer Ivan Yelagin (1725–1794), and Emilja Federowicz, widow of Wacław Fedorowicz. The collection also included items from collections of Michał Dulski, Dominyk Moniuszko,
Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...
professor Johan Wolfgang Bartolomius Bieniowski. The collection had a complete set of all
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
masonry loges signs (including all of the 7 level GDL signs), seals, medals, and the "Gorliwy Litwin" (Diligent Lithuanian) loge regulations project manuscript and ritual cup. In 1899 Wróblewski founded and led "Neoszubrawcy" para-masonic organization (discontinued in 1914). Wróblewski was known as a lawyer who would take unpopular cases. He defended 1905–1907 revolution activists. During the trials he was defending about 400 people, including his best-known case of Pyotr Schmidt, that gained him
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-wide recognition. He was consistent in his belief, that no ethnic group is superior over others, and demanded autonomy for minorities. Being consistent in his democratic beliefs Wróblewski was a strong supporter of Lithuanian, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish territories sovereignty in the first and the third Russian Duma. After
Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...
became part of Poland after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Wróblewski defended Lithuanian activists without charge, the most-known case being
Mykolas Biržiška Mykolas Biržiška (; 24 August 1882, in Viekšniai – 24 August 1962, in Los Angeles), a Lithuanian editor, historian, professor of literature, diplomat, and politician, was one of the twenty signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuan ...
. In 1922 Wróblewski
unanimous Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...
ly was elected as an honorary member of the Lithuanian Science Society, and held lectures in the society organized events about the Vilnius and Lithuania history. Tadeusz Wróblewski was buried at Rasos cemetery.


Library

Since 1912 Wróblewski pursued a goal to establish a
public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
in Vilnius. To that end he established Eustachy and Emilia Wróblewska library society, later transformed into Wroblewski's scientific aid society. In 1925, just before his death, Wróblewski donated his collection to the city under strict conditions that the collection should be never split and under no circumstances would leave the city. Wróblewski died before formal donation procedures were finished. In 1926 the library, then under the custody of the Polish government, was renamed to the National Library of Eustachy and Emilia Wróblewska in Wilno (). By 1939 the library was expanded with a scientific institute and a museum, and had about 200,000 items, including paintings, icons, maps and coins. Following the
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...
the most valuable part of the collection was robbed in September 1939, and together with most of Vilnius city archives was transferred to
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
. Among the most valuable lost items was a full collection of Lithuanian Free masonry loge signs and manuscripts collection (86 volumes),
Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
collection (678 volumes), Lithunistics volumes regarding Vilnius region (435 volumes) and Lithuanian state (72 volumes), and other valuable books (72 volumes). The library was taken over by the Lithuanians in October 1939. Nowadays the remaining part of Wróblewski's collection is preserved as a valuable part of the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. The library made the Wróblewski family its patron in 2010.


See also

* Lithuanian Scientific Society


Notes


External links


The Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences

Podlaska Digital Library
at pbc.biaman.pl {{DEFAULTSORT:Wroblewski, Tadeusz 1858 births 1925 deaths Polish exiles in the Russian Empire Lawyers from Vilnius 19th-century Polish nobility 19th-century Polish politicians Polish bibliophiles Tadeusz Burials at Rasos Cemetery 20th-century Polish nobility Lawyers from the Russian Empire