Professor Jan Alkiewicz, MD, and his influence on 20th century dermatology and mycology

Abstract

Jan Alkiewicz (Figure 1) was born on March 26, 1896, in Osieczna, in the Leszno district, the son of a medical practitioner. His secondary education imbued in him a passion for the ancient culture and an excellent command of Greek and Latin languages. While attending middle school (gymnasium) in Leszno, he was involved in the conspiracy movement of the Polish youth, actively participating in the secret Tomasz Zan Society. It was the period of the Partitions of Poland and the Prussian occupation of theWielkopolska Province. When the Wielkopolska Uprising broke out, Alkiewicz joined the insurgents and, being a medical student, he was delegated to the Insurgent Military Hospital in Września. The Wielkopolska Uprising of 1918 was the only successful uprising during the more than 120 years when Poland was deprived of its independence. The Alkiewicz family originates from Polish Tatars who moved from the Don River area to Poland in the Middle Ages. The progenitor of the Alkiewicz family is a Cossack Muslim emigrant Alikum–Alku–Alko, who arrived in Poland in the beginning of the 16th century. His successors were baptized in the beginning of the 17th century under the name of Alkiewicz and moved to the Wielkopolska region at the end of the 17th century, where in 1840 they were raised to the nobility, bearing Szalawa and Jelita coats of arms. Stanislaw Alkiewicz (1859-1910), Jan's father, studied medical sciences in Wroclaw and in Leipzig, where he was