This article discusses changes in the defense of the Tykocin Castle located in the northeastern part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (until 1569 part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania), during the reign of Sigismund II Augustus (1548–1572). This study presents new findings on the transformation and modernization of its fortifications, based on a reinterpretation of written sources correlated with the results of archaeological research. The discussion is set against the political background of the period that shaped this process, as well as in the context of the development of defense systems in the 16th c., especially in relation to the castle in Hieraniony, present-day Belarus. The analysis also offers new insights into military architecture of that period.

The exchange of letters between Elias von Löwen and Johannes Hevelius, conducted in the years 1648–1654, contains an extensive thread devoted to solar eclipses. This article examines the attitudes of both astronomers towards the prevailing theories of lunar motion (necessary for calculating the course of eclipses) and towards the use of traditional (camera obscura, mechanical clock with the foliot) and innovative (telescope, pendulum) methods of conducting observations. The accuracy of the observations of solar eclipses from 1649 and 1652 described in the correspondence, made by Hevelius in Gdańsk, von Löwen in Byczyna, Albert Linemann in Königsberg and Pierre des Noyers in Warsaw, is also analyzed.

This study offers an overview of the work undertaken by Polish and Czech historians of mathematics, along with an evaluation of existing biographical dictionaries dedicated to Polish mathematicians. It also presents a survey of in-depth biographical articles on Polish mathematicians, as well as selected book-length studies. The article aims to draw the attention of the Polish historians of science to the pressing need for comprehensive, scholarly biographies of Polish mathematicians. Special attention is devoted to Wacław Sierpiński, the founder of the Warsaw School of Mathematics. This article is a revised and expanded version of a paper presented at the conference Od informacji do inspiracji. Słowniki biograficzne uczonych i studentów w nauce i historiografii (From Information to Inspiration: Biographical Dictionaries of Scholars and Students in Science and Historiography), held on 17–18 May 2023, organized by the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IH PAN) and the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (PAU) in Krakow.

The article examines the materials from the “Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology” (covering the years 1956–1965) which can be found in the current bibliography of the history of science published in “Isis. An International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences”. It discusses the contents of the Isis Critical Bibliography (1956–1965, 10 vols.), the Isis Cumulative Bibliography 1913–1965 (5 vols.), and the Isis Cumulative Bibliography 1966–1975 (2 vols.), as works from the 1965 volume of the “Quarterly Journal” were included in both volumes of the latter. This study is the first in a planned series of analyses concerning the presence of Polish publications in these bibliographies.

The article offers a thorough analysis of the founding of the Odesa Polytechnic Institute in 1918 during the civil war in Ukraine. The primary historical sources are materials from the State Archive of Odesa Oblast, most of which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The main research methods used include system analysis, synthesis, the historical method, logical and comparative-historical approaches, and generalization. The article is innovative in that it draws on a comprehensive range of archival sources for the first time. It includes a critical analysis of existing historiography on the subject, identifies and examines all key functional and structural components of the emerging polytechnic institute, and explores the process of their formation. Particular attention is given to the roles of various corporate participants and the influence of individual actors in the institutionalization of higher technical education in Odesa. For the first time, the involvement of the Odesa branch of the Russian Technical Society in this process is not only acknowledged but its leading role in establishing the Institute is substantiated. Amid the turbulent political context of the civil war, this branch effectively assumed the status of an independent Odesa Technical Society. The methods and forms of organizational activity of the Odesa branch of the Russian Technical Society in the process of institutionalizing higher technical education in Odesa have been clarified. The article also identifies and analyzes the areas and mechanisms of cooperation among various local corporate structures, including the Odesa branch of the Imperial Russian Technical Society, the Odesa Union of Engineers and Technicians, student organizations (such as the Union of student-technicians), municipal authorities, professors of Novorossiysk (Odesa) University, public figures, and others. The leading roles of several individuals instrumental in the founding of the institute are established and explored. The article also highlights the political and organizational characteristics of the institutionalization process under conditions of constant shifts in military and political power, each with differing ideological positions. Odesa Polytechnic Institute became the first higher technical school in the southern Ukrainian lands and remains a leading higher educational institution even today.

After World War II, the process of chemicalization intensified, extending into an increasing number of areas of human life. Chemical products became essential for the functioning of modern society but also contributed significantly to environmental degradation and pollution. This prompted an international debate on the human environment and the dangers posed by pollution. In the 1970s, bioanalytical research was launched at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Medical Academy of Warsaw. Its aim was to better understand these threats, mitigate them, and prevent their toxic effects on human health. This marked a new area of responsibility for pharmacists within the healthcare system. Research on environmental pollution was undertaken by various universities and scientific institutes, with findings published in academic journals focused on ecology, nature conservation, forestry, and agriculture, as well as in medical and industrial chemistry journals. These publications explored different aspects of environmental toxicology. To date, these topics have received little attention from historians of science. This study seeks to highlight one of the research areas pursued during that period, with the goal of identifying the main directions of environmental pollution research conducted in the 1970s and 1980s at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Warsaw. The text is based on publications featured in “Bromatologia i Chemia Toksykologiczna” (“Bromatology and Toxicological Chemistry”) and “Kwartalnik Akademii Medycznej w Warszawie” (“Quarterly of the Medical Academy of Warsaw”).

The article describes the first modern water intake for Wejherowo – ‘modern’ referring to construction based on advancements from the Industrial Revolution. Today, this facility is almost entirely forgotten, and knowledge about it is extremely limited. However, having been decommissioned several decades ago, the site has not undergone modernization and remains in its original configuration. All components have survived, albeit in varying conditions and with differing levels of equipment preservation. Nonetheless, what remains is entirely original in substance. This, together with the fulfillment of other classification criteria, makes the complex a highly valuable example of industrial heritage. The author attempts to establish a foundation of knowledge about this site, based on an inventory of surviving remains in the field and by placing them within a coherent historical and technical context – specifically of the Prussian water supply systems built in towns along the edge of the upland. The paper discusses the spatial layout and technical solutions, supported by photographic documentation of the site’s condition at the time of writing. This constitutes an initial stage of research, which undoubtedly requires further development. Nevertheless, it is important that awareness of the site’s existence and value reaches relevant stakeholders as soon as possible. The concluding sections of the article include an assessment of the site’s condition and a discussion of its significance as an example of technical heritage.