Tadeusz Banachiewicz | |
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.jpg) Tadeusz Banachiewicz | |
| Born | (1882-02-13)13 February 1882 |
| Died | 17 November 1954(1954-11-17) (aged 72) |
| Occupation(s) | Astronomer,mathematician andgeodesist |
| Spouse(s) | Laura de Sołohub Dikyj (m. 1931) |
| Parents |
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Tadeusz Julian Banachiewicz (13 February 1882,Warsaw – 17 November 1954,Kraków[1]) was a Polishastronomer,mathematician andgeodesist.[2]
Banachiewicz was educated atUniversity of Warsaw and his thesis was on "reduction constants of the Repsold heliometer".[3] In 1905, after the closure of the University by the Russians, he moved toGöttingen and in 1906 to thePulkovo Observatory. He also worked at theEngelhardt Observatory atKazan University from 1910 to 1915.[4]
In 1919, after Polandregained its independence, Banachiewicz moved toKraków, becoming a professor at theJagiellonian University and the director of Kraków Observatory (055). A major contribution was a modified method of determining parabolic orbits. In 1925, he invented a theory of "cracovians" – a special kind of matrix algebra – which brought him international recognition. This theory solved several astronomical, geodetic, mechanical and mathematical problems.[1]
In 1922 he became a member ofPolish Academy of Arts and Sciences and from 1932 to 1938 was the vice-president of theInternational Astronomical Union. He was also the first President of thePolish Astronomical Society, the vice-president of the Geodetic Committee of The Baltic States and, from 1952 to his death, a member of thePolish Academy of Sciences. He was also the founder of the journalActa Astronomica. He was the recipient of Doctor Honoris Causa titles from theUniversity of Warsaw (1929),[5] theUniversity of Poznań (1936)[6] and theSofia University inBulgaria (1948).[7][1]
Banachiewicz invented achronocinematograph, anastronomical instrument for precise observations ofsolar eclipses. He published more than 500 scientific papers, scientific and popular press communications, telegraph scientific reports, polemics, reviews, reports and editorial works, dealing with astronomy, mathematics, mechanics, geodesy, geophysics and other fieldsof science.[8] TheLU decomposition was introduced by Banachiewicz in 1938.[9]
The lunar craterBanachiewicz and the main-belt asteroid1286 Banachiewicza are named after him.[10] The asteroid1287 Lorcia was named after his wife following his suggestion to the discoverer.[11]
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