In celebration of Polish American Heritage Month, we recognize the economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of notable immigrants and refugees who’ve helped shape America’s vibrant tapestry. Today, we spotlight world-renowned Polish American scientist Henryk Arctowski.
Henryk Bronislaw Arctowski was born in Warsaw in 1871. His ancestors emigrated from Württemberg, Germany, to Poland in the 17th century. As a student in German-occupied Poland, the government prosecuted Henryk for speaking Polish. As a result, his parents sent him to Belgium in 1888. There, he studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the University of Liège, and later chemistry and geology at the Sorbonne in Paris. After graduating, he returned to Liège to work in the chemistry department’s laboratory.
In 1895, Arctowski was recruited to take part in the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, the first of its kind to spend an entire winter season in the region. He coordinated scientific work and completed physical observations.
After the expedition, he was made Knight of the Order of Leopold, studied and published the expedition’s results at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, and gave lectures, where he met American actress and singer Arian Jane Addy. The two married in 1909, and although he soon gained Belgian citizenship, the couple moved to New York. He went on to become a pioneer of climate science and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1915. While in New York City, he became the head of the science division at the New York Public Library, a role he held until 1919.
In 1920, the couple returned to Poland, where, after declining the position of education minister, he became a professor and meteorologist at Jan Kazimierz University, where he published 144 papers. He and his wife were traveling to the U.S when the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. As a result, the couple were never able to return and subsequently lost all their possessions. He spent the remainder of his working life as a research assistant at the historic Smithsonian Institution, where he remained until he died in 1958.
Henryk Arctowski’s name has been given to several geographical landmarks, including the Arctowski Dome, Cove, Peninsula, and Peak. Additionally, the Navy’s ORP Arctowski hydrographic ship bears his name, as does the Arctowski Medal, awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for studies in solar physics and solar-terrestrial relationships.
