Born: November 30, 1768 in Znin, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Died: May 12, 1838 in Vilna, Russian partition of Poland (Polish Wilno, presently Vilnius, Lithuania)
Professional career. After completing his university studies, he was chosen to be during the period 1797-1832 professor of chemistry at the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's "Main School½ (Szkola Glowna), which in 1803 was renamed the Imperial University of Vilnius. In 1826 till 1832 he was named professor of medicine at the same school. One of his students was Ignacy Domeyko (see his bio in ½Prominent Poles�). Sniadecki was also one of the main organizers and head of the created in 1832 Wilno Medical-Surgical Academy. From 1806-36 he headed the local Medical Scientific Society, one of the premier scientific societies in the region. Sniadecki's most important book was Poczatki chemii (The Beginnings of Chemistry), the first Polish-language chemistry textbook, prepared for the Commission of National Education. It was considered one of the best Polish scientific textbooks of its time and was used in Polish universities well into the 1930s. In his philosophical concepts Sniadecki was an advocate of empirism and materialism of French century of enlightment and also of the concept of �common sense� of Scottish philosophical school. He created Polish chemical terminology and has written the first original Polish chemistry textbook Początki chemii (Beginnings of chemistry, 180. His Teoria jestestw organicznych (The theory of organic entities, 1804-1811) considerably preceded the development of natural sciences- it has several edition also foreign. He was also a promoter of hygiene and dietetics and pioneered physical training in Poland. Sniadecki was also known as a writer of less serious works; a co-founder of Towarzystwo Szubrawc�w (the Wastrel Society), he contributed articles to its satirical weekly, Wiadomości Brukowe (The Gutter News). He also wrote copiously in Wiadomości Wileńskie (The Vilnius' News), the largest and most prestigious daily in Vilnius. Sniadecki may have been the original discoverer of the element ruthenium in 1807, thirty-seven years before Karl Klaus. Sniadecki called it �west� in his 1808 article Rozprawa o nowym metalu w surowej platynie odkrytym (A treatise about a new metal discovered in crude platinum). Apparently, Sniadecki withdrew his claim of discovery after other scientists failed to replicate his results. Jedrzej was the brother of Jan Sniadecki and father of Ludwika Sniadecka.
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