Born: January 6, 1813, in Lawki, Prussian partition of Poland (presently Poland)
Died: November 6, 1868, Poznan, Prussian partition of Poland (presently Poland)
Early days. Father- Michal, from Polish gentry (coat-of arms “Dolega”) leaseholder of an estate; mother- Jozefa nee Palkowska. During 1827-1830 he went to a high school (Gimnazjum) in Trzemeszno and then during 1830-1835 to a Maria Magdalena high school in Poznan. At that time his mother died and his father went bankrupt. Cegielski had to take care of himself by tutoring the sons of wealthy estate owners. After finishing high school in 1835- as the best student- he studied at Berlin University where he was partially supported by a stipend. which he completed in 1841 “summa cum laude” by defending a doctor dissertation De negatione (philosophy.
Teaching career. He returned to Poznan and passed an exam to become a teacher of Polish and antique languages in the Maria Magdalena Gimnazjum.. Cegielski was also a researcher: in 1843 he wrote a “Grammar of Greek language and in 1845 he published a textbook „Learning Poetry” that also included a collection of Polish poems. In 1846 he was suspended as a teacher because of his support of peasant insurrection in Galicia (Austrian partition).
Business. After a short practice in Berlin he opened in Poznan-with the help of his friends- a store with agricultural tools which he developed into a small factory of tools. The factory grew and in 1858 Cegielski published a catalog including description and drawings of his products. In 1860 started the construction of a new factory and with it the production of „lokomobila” (a traction engine).
Social activity. He co-founded the Society of Learning Help, the Industrial Society, the Economic Society and the Poznanian Society of the Friends of Science. In 1848 he founded Poznan’s first independent newspaper „Gazeta Polska.” From 1858-1863 he published “Dziennik Poznanski.”
Personal. In 1841 he married Walentyna Motty. They had three children: Stefan, Karolina and Zofia. His wife died soon after giving birth to their third child.
Based on an article that appears in Wikipedia (with modifications):
Wikipedia (in Polish)
This text is available under the terms of the Creative Commons License.
Other sources:
Historia Biznesu (in Polish)
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