Jerzy Sikorski (born July 25, 1935) is a Polish historian, Copernicologist, medievalist, museologist, author, publisher, journalist, and encyclopedist, who writes and publishes primarily in Polish. He is a resident of Olsztyn, Poland.
Life Early life Jerzy Sikorski was born on July 25, 1935, in Vilnius (Polish: Wilno), to Anna Wołk-Lewanowicz (1914–1995) and Feliks Sikorski (1889–1980). Five years later (1940) Sikorski's sister Maria Danuta was born.
In October 1944, during World War II, Sikorski's mother Anna was arrested by the People's Commissariat for State Security along with 40 other people, when she was exposed as a courier between Vilnius' "Kedyw" and the general staff of the Polish Home Army. Early in January 1945 Sikorski's father Feliks was also arrested because he was a soldier of the 1st Polish Corps under the Polish general Józef Dowbor-Muśnicki in the Polish-Soviet War,, but he was released after three months. Upon his release, Feliks made efforts to obtain Anna's release from prison, locate and take care of Jerzy and Maria, and reunite his family. Anna was released from prison camp in June 1946, and the family moved to Olsztyn. They chose Olsztyn based on the fact that most of the Vilnius board of education where Feliks once worked had been evacuated to Olsztyn, and Feliks could resume his position there.Sikorski Jerzy (2012). "Biografia: Jerzy Sikorski – O Sobie". www.jerzysikorski.pl, Olsztyn. Accessed 2018-08-25.
Education Following World War II, Sikorski's mother was prevented from teaching due to political persecution. After Sikorski graduated from high school in 1953, he was repeatedly denied entry to university in spite of passing exams in Gdańsk, Warsaw, Toruń, and Poznań. Each time, he received the characteristic preprinted postcard with "not accepted due to lack of space". On the advice of a Polish studies specialist teacher (Polish philologist), Janina Kirkicka, Sikorski was able to enroll in a two-year teacher's college in Olsztyn, but after two weeks the director Bolesław Wytrążek instructed Sikorski to leave the college, due to the decision of the local Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) in Olsztyn. Through , who was the director at the Museum of Warmia and Masuria located at Olsztyn Castle, Sikorski obtained employment (1954–1955) at the , which was under the patronage of the regional museum in Olsztyn. The work at Frombork's museum and the person of the great Polish Astronomer Nicolas Copernicus, who spent most of his life in Frombork and Warmia region, made a lasting impression on Sikorski. As a result, Copernicus and Copernicana research became the dominant subject in Sikorski's lifetime work and in his professional affiliations with various research centers. Ultimately, it led to Sikorski's discovery and publication of Copernicus' resting place at Frombork's cathedral in 1973, which was confirmed archaeologically in 2005.
In the fall of 1955 Sikorski enrolled at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, where he chose to study under professor , who among other scholarly pursuits studied and researched the life and politics of Copernicus' maternal uncle, Bishop Lucas Watzenrode.Górski Karol (1973). Łukasz Watzenrode. Życie i działalność polityczna (1447–1512). Wrocław 1973. Sikorski wrote his master's thesis on Watzenrode, and subsequently wrote his doctoral dissertation "Polish monarchy and Warmia at the end of the 15th century: Issues in systemic-law and politics".Sikorski Jerzy (1978). Monarchia polska i Warmia u schyłku XV wieku. Zagadnienia prawno-ustrojowe i polityczne. Olsztyn, 1978.
Upon completing of his academic studies at the Nicolas Copernicus University in Toruń in 1960, Sikorski accepted a position at the Museum of Warmia at Lidzbark Warmiński Castle, where Copernicus spent at least seven years (1503–1509). Copernicus had strong ties to the city of Lidzbark, and had visited there at the invitation of his maternal uncle Bishop Lucas Watzenrode in 1495. Sikorski worked at the museum from 1961 to 1962.
Lidzbark Warmiński Castle was of substantial significance for Jerzy Sikorski's Copernicana studies in terms of the history of astronomy; as well as because the castle was a strongly fortified seat of the bishops of Warmia and the administration center of their lands from the second half of the 14th century. At that time, Lidzbark city had one of the largest populations in Warmia, similar to Braniewo. In Lidzbark, Sikorski researched historic documents pertaining to the history of Poland's Baltic seashore (Pomerania, Warmia, Mazury, Prussia), and its extant architectural relics, documents, and other materials relating to Nicolaus Copernicus. Following the death of bishop Watzenrode in Toruń on March 29, 1512, Copernicus only sporadically visited Lidzbark, either as an emissary of the Warmia Chapter, or as a personal medical doctor for the successive bishops: (d. 1523), Mauritius Ferber (Polish: Maurycy Ferber 1471–1537), and Johannes Dantiscus (Polish: Jan Dantyszek; 1485–1548).
Author An organized index of published books and articles by Sikorski is listed at his web portal, covering four areas of research: 1. Copernicana; 2. Cities and castles of Prussia; 3. Historic tradition of the region; and, 4. The History of Science.
An additional indexed list of Sikorski's complete articles and papers is available online at the Database of Articles (in Polish), including two English language papers: "The Empirical Table of Olsztyn the Question of Nicolaus Copernicus' Scientific Workshop", and "The Practice of Bishops' Burials in Frombork Cathedral and the Question of the Grave of Nicolaus Copernicus' Uncle Łukasz Watzenrode".
In 1973, in time for the 500th anniversary of Nicolas Copernicus' birth, Sikorski authored a popular monograph on the astronomer's life, work, and times.Sikorski Jerzy (1973). Prywatne Życie Mikołaja Kopernika, Olsztyn 1973. Three updated editions were published, in 1985, 1995, and 2011.Sikorski Jerzy (1985). Prywatne Życie Mikołaja Kopernika, 2nd supplemented ed., Olsztyn 1985.Sikorski Jerzy (1995). Prywatne Życie Mikołaja Kopernika, 3rd supplemented ed., Prószyński i S-ka Warszawa 1995.Sikorski Jerzy (2011). Prywatne Życie Mikołaja Kopernika. 4th supplemented ed., Pracownia Wydawnicza ElSet, Olsztyn 2011. .
History of Science consultant
Dr Jerzy Sikorski is credited for history of science consultation in the opening titles to the Polish motion picture Kopernik, released in Toruń, Poland, on February 14, 1973.Petelski Czesław Ewa (1973). Kopernik (Motion Picture). Biography of Nicolas Copernicus. Production Studios: Studio Filmowe Iluzjon (Poland) and DEFA – Studio Filmów Fabularnych (Berlin) East Germany, Gruppe "Roter Kreis."Gingerich Owen (2004). The book nobody read: chasing the revolutions of Nicolaus Copernicus, Penguin Books 2004 (pbk.) The film was released on the occasion of the world and United Nations celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Copernicus' birth that were organized by the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science.
Journalist Between 1966 and 2007 Jerzy Sikorski published a number of articles in Mazury-Warmian Communications (), on the history of Poland's ancestral Baltic seashore Pomerania, and the Polish regions of Warmia and Masuria. He also published articles on the life and activities of the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus.Sikorski Jerzy (1969). Wieża, dom i obserwatorium fromborskie Mikołaja Kopernika oraz jego folwarki. Copernicana. Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie nr 4, 619-645, 1969. Contains English Summary: "The tower, house, and observatory of Nicholas Copernicus at Frombork, and his allodiums." Digitized by Muzeum Historii Polski (bashum.mushp.pl).
Sikorski was a member of the editorial staff at Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie, and also a member of staff at Frombork's Commentaries (Komentarze Fromborskie), and also the substitute editor-in-chief of Olsztyn Yearly (),Sikorski Jerzy (2007). Rocznik Olsztyński (1958-1997), "Komunikaty Mazursko-Warmińskie" 2007, nr 3, s. 295-315.
Encyclopedist Jerzy Sikorski published a number of short biographies of Warmian Chapter canons and members in the Polish Biographical Dictionary, which is printed by the Polish Academy of Sciences. These included biographies of Preuck Jan (1575–1631), Preuck Jerzy (d. 1556), Reich Feliks (c. 1475–1539), Sculteti Aleksander (1485–1564), Sculteti Bernard (d. 1518), and Sculteti Jan (d. 1526).
Copernicologist
Copernicus' Polish nationality and descent
Reviewing the document Locationes mansorum desertorum (Allocation of abandoned fiefs), which was written by Copernicus in the region of Olsztyn Castle, Olsztyn, Poland, Jerzy Sikorski discovered that, out of the 136 names of allocation of fiefs, 60 were Polish names (peasants had only first names) written in phonetically correct Polish. Sikorski also cites an extant document where Copernicus' witness was Copernicus' Polish servant: Wojciech Cebulski. These documents indicate that Copernicus spoke and wrote Polish.
In a letter to king Sigismund I of Poland handwritten by Nicolas Copernicus in Olsztyn Castle, the administrator, chancellor, and commander in chief of the defense of Olsztyn Castle Copernicus and Warmia Canons together affirm their Polish nationality as subjects to King Sigismund I of Poland against the enemy, the German Teutonic Order. The writers say that they are willing to die defending Olsztyn Castle, Warmia, and Poland from the Teutonic Knights. Nicolas Copernicus is directly associated with Sigismund I of Poland in the wars against the Teutonic Order, the reform of royal mints and the minting of coins, in establishing modern market economy in 16th century Poland, in direct contacts with king's personal medical doctor, with Cracow (Kraków) and the Jagiellonian University, and with the Polish Roman Catholic Church in Cracow.
Sikorski wrote "the intellectual adventure of my life were my discoveries of Copernicus' Polish ancestry and nationality".Fedoniuk B. (2015). Jerzy Sikorski: Kopernik był przygodą mojego życia. September 7, 2015, Radio Olsztyn S.A. 2017, (https://ro.com.pl/jerzy-sikorski-kopernik-byl-przygoda-mojego-zycia/01225757 ). Retrieved: December 7, 2017.
Copernicus' resting place
Copernicus was reportedly buried in Frombork Cathedral, but archaeologists searched there in vain for centuries for his remains. Efforts to locate the remains in 1581, 1626, 1802, 1909, 1939 and 2004 came to nought. In 1973 Dr Jerzy Sikorski published the location of Copernicus' resting place in his book, including the photo of the Altar of Saint Wacław, today Altar of Saint Cross, with a subscription (English translation of Polish) "The remains of Mikołaj Kopernik rest unnamed next to this altar".