Kun. Pranciškaus Ksavero Mykolo Bohušo (1746–1820) intelektualinės veiklos pėdsakais: Varšuvos mokslo bičiulių draugija
Tracing the Intellectual Activity of the Jesuit Fr. Franciszek Ksawery Michał Bohusz (1746–1820): the Warsaw Society of Friends of Science

Summary/Abstract: The Warsaw Society of Friends of Science (Pol. Warszawskie Towarzystwo Warszawskie Przyjacioł Nauk), which operated in Warsaw from 1800 to 1832, was one of the earliest scientific societies in the territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early of 19th century. It brought together scientists from various fields as well as the public, and aimed to educate society through spreading scientific knowledge. Citizens of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, such as professors of Vilnius University and representatives of the Roman Catholic Church clergy, were drawn into the Society’s activities or participated at their own initiative. Based on archival sources and the available literature on this subject, the article presents an analysis of certain aspects of the role this Society played on the biography of the Roman Catholic Church clergyman from the Vilnius Diocese, the Jesuit Franciszek Ksawery Michał Bohusz (Lit. Pranciškus Ksaveras Mykolas Bohušas, 1746–1820). F. K. M. Bohusz’s membership in this Society covers the last years of his life, namely, the period 1804–1820, which he spent in Warszaw. It was found, that F. K. M. Bohusz was one of the most active and productive members of the Society during the first decades of its existence. F. K. M. Bohusz’s generous funding of the Society’s activities earned him the title of patron and contributed to the exceptional respect shown to him by his colleagues. The study suggests that the Society played an inspiring role in F. K. M. Bohusz’s creative biography. The works he prepared and published in the first decades of the 19th century (15 publications, three of which are reprints) are inspired by the intellectual environment nurtured at the Society.

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