Thomas Zebrowski ( lt, Tomas Žebrauskas, pl, Tomasz Żebrowski; November 24, 1714 in

Samogitia Samogitia or Žemaitija ( Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five cultural regions of Lithuania and formerly one of the two core administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

– March 18, 1758 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

) was a Jesuit architect, mathematician, and

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

. He was instrumental in establishing and funding the

Observatory of Vilnius University Vilnius University Astronomical Observatory is an astronomical observatory of Vilnius University. It was founded in 1753 by initiative of Thomas Zebrowski. The observatory is the fourth oldest observatory in the Europe. While the observatory is n ...

Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt ( lt, Martynas Počobutas; 30 October 1728 near Grodno – 7 February 1810 in Daugavpils) was a Polish–Lithuanian Jesuit, astronomer and mathematician. He was professor of Vilnius University for over 50 year ...

was among his students.

Biography

Zebrowski studied philosophy and theology at Vilnius University. He briefly taught at Jesuit schools in

Kražiai Kražiai ( Samogitian: ''Kražē''; pl, Kroże) is a historic town in Lithuania, located in the Kelmė district municipality, between Varniai (32 km) and Raseiniai (44 km), on the Kražantė River. The old town of Kražiai is an arche ...

Ilūkste Ilūkste (; lt, Alūksta, Ilūkšta; german: Illuxt) is a town in Augšdaugava Municipality in the Selonia region of Latvia. The population in 2020 was 2,216. History Territory of modern Ilūkste was inhabited by ancient baltic tribe- Selonian ...

, and

Babruysk Babruysk, Babrujsk or Bobruisk ( be, Бабруйск , Belarusian Latin alphabet, Łacinka: , rus, Бобруйск, Bobrujsk, bɐˈbruɪ̯s̪k, yi, באָברויסק ) is a city in the Mogilev Region of eastern Belarus on the Berezina rive ...

and prepared construction projects for churches in these towns. They displayed features of Baroque churches in Vilnius. He also designed the Jesuit school in , houses for nobles, and other buildings. Though documentary evidence is lacking, it is suspected that Zebrowski was also involved in construction of churches in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the 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 stat ...

and

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

, as well as the Oginski residence in (Hanuta) village. After studying at

Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

under

Joseph Stepling Joseph Stepling (29 June 1716 − 11 July 1778) was a Bohemian Jesuit priest, astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. Stepling founded the Clementinum Observatory in Prague in 1751 fitted with the best instruments available in that period, some ...

in 1750–52, Zebrowski returned to Vilnius, becoming a popular lecturer of physics and astronomy at

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow an ...

. He was also interested in

geodesy Geodesy ( ) is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding Earth's figure (geometric shape and size), Earth rotation, orientation in space, and Earth's gravity, gravity. The field also incorporates studies of how these properti ...

horology Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix '' -logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomi ...

mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

, geography. However, his major passion was astronomy and he pursued funding for an observatory. The construction was funded by Elżbieta Ogińska-Puzynina, while Mikolaj Radziwill and bishop Józef Sapieha donated and diameter

reflector telescope A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...

s manufactured in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. Zebrowski designed the observatory; its construction began in 1753.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zebrowski, Thomas 1714 births 1758 deaths 17th-century Lithuanian Jesuits 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian astronomers Architects from Vilnius Charles University alumni Vilnius University alumni Academic staff of Vilnius University 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian mathematicians Jesuit scientists