 zygmunt janiszewski (june 12, 1888 â january 3, 1920) was a polish mathematician. ==life== his mother was julia szulc-chojnicka. his father, czeslaw janiszewski, was a graduate of the university of warsaw and was an important person in finance, being the director of the sociÃ©tÃ© du crÃ©dit municipal in warsaw. janiszewski taught at the university of lwÃ³w and was professor at the university of warsaw. at the outbreak of world war i he was a soldier in the polish legions of jÃ³zef piÅsudski, fighting for polish independence. with piÅsudski himself and other officers, he refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the austrian government. he left the legions and hid under the false name zygmunt wicherkiewicz in boiska, near zwoleÅ. from boiska he moved on to ewin, near wÅoszczowa, where he directed a shelter for homeless children. at the end of world war i, janiszewski was the driving force behind the creation of one of the strongest schools of mathematics in the world. this is all the more remarkable, given poland's difficult situaltion at war's end. janiszewski devoted the family property that he had inherited from his father to charity and education. he also donated all the prize money that he received from mathematical awards and competitions to the education and development of young polish students. . he was the driving force, together with wacÅaw sierpiÅski and stefan mazurkiewicz, behind the founding of the mathematics journal fundamenta mathematicae. janiszewski proposed the name of the journal in 1919, though the first issue was published in 1920, after his death. it was his intent that the first issue comprise solely contributions by polish mathematicians. it was janiszewski's vision that poland become a world leader in the field of mathematicsâwhich she did in the interbellum. his life was cut short by the influenza pandemic of 1918-19, which took his life at lwÃ³w on 3 january 1920 at the age of 31. he willed his body for medical research, and his cranium for craniological study, desiring to be "useful after his death". samuel dickstein wrote a commemorative address after janiszewski's death, honoring his humility, kindness and dedication to his work: {{blockquote|enthusiasm and str
1888_births 1920_deaths 20th-century_mathematicians Deaths_from_the_1918_flu_pandemic Polish_mathematicians Topologists