Oskar Fabian
Quick Info
Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki (near Warsaw), Russian Empire (now Poland)
Lemberg, Galicia, Austrian Empire (later Lwów, Poland, now Lviv, Ukraine)
Biography
Oskar Fabian was the son of the pharmacist Szymon Fabian (1803-1885) and his wife Bertha. Szymon Fabian was born on 25 November 1803 in Poznań. He studied pharmacy at the University of Warsaw and in Berlin, where he obtained a master's degree. He founded a pharmacy in Nowy Dwór in 1833 where he also founded a laboratory. In 1835 he published the 2-volume work Pharmacja Ⓣ which was the first textbook on pharmacy in the Polish language. Szymon and Bertha Fabian had two sons, Oskar Fabian, the subject of this biography born 28 February 1846, and Aleksander Fabian (1847-1911), born in Nowy Dwór on 30 July 1847 who became a physician. Szymon Fabian died in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki on 18 April 1885.Oskar Fabian attended the provincial high school, then the Third High School in Warsaw from which he graduated in 1864. He continued to study in Warsaw, enrolling in the mathematics and physics department of the Main School of Warsaw in 1864. After four years of study, Fabian moved to Vienna where he spent the years 1868-1870 undertaking research for his doctorate. He was awarded his doctorate on 10 May 1870. Following this, he went to Heidelberg where he continued to undertake research during 1870-71. He had already obtained a teaching diploma from the University of Vienna and after leaving Heidelberg he moved to Lwów where he taught from 1871 to 1873 at the Real Gymnasium.
While teaching at the Real Gymnasium in Lwów, Fabian wrote two articles both published in 1871. The article [4], On the convergence and divergence of infinite series, begins as follows:-
In Volume 53 of the Reports of the Sessions of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, there is a simple derivation of Gauss's theorem on the convergence of series, given by J Pranghofer. After taking a closer look at the basis it is difficult to agree with this argument, although recommendable due to its brevity.The article [5], Bending of light and wavelengths, has the following Preface:-
In submitting this work to the judgment of the gracious reader, I must say at the outset that its purpose is not to discover new truths or hitherto unknown phenomena. It is only to gather into one organ to present a complete whole of what has been put together in dozens of larger and smaller works from the 17th century to the present; to present a picture of the gradual development of theories explaining the phenomenon of light bending; and to facilitate the acquisition of a deeper knowledge of this subject than is provided by ordinary, even quite extensive, physics textbooks.In this work, Fabian examined the diffraction of light, looking at the ideas about this phenomenon from the time of Francesco Grimaldi in the mid-17th century. In fact, as Fabian states, Grimaldi gave this phenomenon the name 'diffractio'. Newton repeated Grimaldi's experiments and came up with his own theory. Fabian looks at how ideas developed from that time, particularly the arguments over light as a wave or as particles.
Fabian submitted these two articles to the University of Lwów as habilitation theses and in 1872 these were approved and he gained the right to teach at the university and was appointed as a docent. The University of Lwów created a new Department of Mathematical Physics where he began to teach. On 14 September 1873, after only one year as a docent, Fabian was promoted to become an extraordinary Professor of Mathematical Physics and became Head of the Department of Mathematical Physics.
Wawrzyniec Żmurko had been appointed as head of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Lwów in 1871. He had interests in both pure mathematics and in the applications of mathematics so Fabian and Żmurko, although in different departments, had close mathematical interests. They became close friends and worked together to build mathematics at the University. There had been changes at the University around the time Fabian was appointed, particularly related to the languages of instruction. Although there was some teaching in Polish before 1871, the majority of courses were taught in German. There was a major change beginning in 1871 when a Decree of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria established Polish as an official language for all teaching in Galicia.
Fabian and Żmurko began to work closely together, particularly collaborating on teaching methods. Żmurko had developed his own ideas about teaching, particularly through spatial methods and Fabian quickly saw the benefits of this system and in 1876 he published his own "textbook of mathematics, prepared according to the teaching system and with the collaboration of university professor Żmurko." We see how the language of teaching was an issue at this time since two versions of the book were published simultaneously in 1876, one being in Polish and one in German. Fabian writes in the Preface [7]:-
In order to standardise the teaching of mathematics in secondary schools, a survey was held in Lwów last autumn, in the deliberations of which almost all professors of local secondary schools took part, teachers of mathematics or related subjects, and several professors of the university and technical academy. The first task of the survey was to consider the principles according to which a mathematics textbook should be composed, meeting the requirements of a strictly methodical teaching and covering all the material prescribed in the applicable curriculum. As for principles, the survey expressed, first of all, the opinion that science should begin with the visualisation of mathematical truths, and only then gradually move to abstraction. This idea, the validity of which no one today will deny, has not been consistently presented in any school book so far. The development of this fundamental idea leads to the conviction that mathematical truth must first of all manifest itself in spatial quantities, as those which immediately come under the senses, and by means of which all other quantities can be represented. From the consideration of spatial quantities it is necessary to derive the whole theory of mathematical operations and in this way create a basis for abstract mathematics. Such a mode of action constitutes the principle of Professor Żmurko's method, and the survey unanimously resolved to try to introduce this method into schools, as the only one consistent with the essential concept of mathematics.The book published in 1876 is Part I. A. Geometry for lower classes. We have not found copies of the three further books he was intending to publish, so it is possible that the experimental teaching method was not as successful as Fabian had hoped.
Although in the works of professor Żmurko the whole system of science is fully developed, it is nevertheless important to note that none of these works is intended for use by average students at schools, but certainly designed for more developed minds. It turned out that I had to compose a new book, which I was summoned to write by a questionnaire. I accepted this summons on condition that the manuscript will be read before printing by those in the survey, so that I could incorporate the advice provided by pedagogues immediately into the first issue.
I must here express my gratitude to my esteemed colleagues for the fact that this part, which is now leaving the press and which covers geometry, was read attentively with untiring patience and intense determination, enriching me, so that I received not one valuable remark of which I did not fail to take advantage.
The earlier or later appearance of the next parts will depend primarily on how much time it takes for those in the survey to read them.
While working on the book I was in constant direct contact with Professor Żmurko, and in this way I was able to utilise all the simplifications and additions that he introduced into his system. The curriculum in force in our secondary schools requires separate teaching of geometry and arithmetic. However, the system according to which this book is arranged does not recognise such separate chapters, but rather the whole of mathematics with all its branches is considered as a uniform whole. Due to the accepted custom and the applicable regulations, however, I had to keep this chapter. Taking into account the division of the material into individual classes, I arranged it so that arithmetic could always be based on what the student has already learned in geometry. For this purpose, I have divided the whole into four books, namely:
Part I. A. Geometry for lower classes.
Part I. B. Arithmetic for lower grades.
Part II. A. Geometry for higher grades.
Part II. B. Algebra for higher grades.
In 1876 Fabian took on a second position when, in addition to his role as an extra-ordinary professor at the University of Lwów, he became a docent at the Lwów Polytechnic School. He continued to hold both positions until 1881 when he was promoted to full professor at the University of Lwów and resigned his position at the Polytechnic.
Fabian became even closer to the Żmurko family when he married Eugenia Żmurków (1854-1922), the daughter of Wawrzyniec Żmurko and Henryka Zofalów. The Żmurko family tomb records that Ewelina Fabian (20 February 1874 - 4 January 1875) and Alfred Fabian (28 April 1884 - 24 February 1908) are buried there. These must be children of Oskar Fabian and his wife Eugenia, who were both buried in that tomb, but of course they could have had other children.
Certainly Fabian helped Żmurko create the beginnings of the important school of mathematics at Lwów. Both taught Józef Puzyna, an undergraduate student at the University of Lwów from 1875 to 1880, who attended lectures on mathematics from Żmurko and on applied mathematics by Fabian. Puzyna was awarded a doctorate by the University of Lwów on 5 July 1883 after his thesis O pozornie dwuwartościowych określonych całkach podwójnych Ⓣ had been examined by Żmurko and Fabian. On 8 November 1884, Puzyna asked for admission to habilitate and he was examined by Żmurko with Fabian chairing the examination.
Let us mention a few more publications of Oskar Fabian. In 1881 he published the article [6] which is about 'the so-called fourth state of matter'. William Crookes (1832-1919) had given the lecture "On radiant matter" to the British Association for the Advancement of Science held at Sheffield, England, on Friday 22 August 1879. Fabian begins the Preface to [6] as follows:-
The interesting experiments of the English physicist Crookes on extremely rarefied gases prompted this researcher to put forward a theory that assumes, in addition to the solid, liquid and gaseous states of matter, a fourth state, called ultra-gaseous, or radiant state of matter.The reference to Dr Puluj's work on this topic refers to Johann Puluj (1845-1918), at that time a docent at the University of Vienna.
The fundamental ideas of his theory were expressed by Crookes in 1879 at the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in an extensive lecture on radiant matter, as well as in several in articles published in various scientific journals. While the general experiments themselves have aroused interest, their theoretical explanation has encountered widespread doubt. And last year Dr Puluj, a lecturer at the University of Vienna, subjected them to a detailed analysis in an extensive work, the result of which was not only the rejection of Crookes' views, but also the formulation of his own theory, based on the assumption of the motion of metal particles, moving through rarefied gas.
Dr Puluj published his research under the title "Strahlende Elektrodenmaterie."
Considering the experiments of Crookes and repeating them, I have long been convinced that the observed phenomena do not require one to seek an explanation in some new state of concentration; but rather in the electrification of gas molecules. And the valuable work of Dr Puluj, although it led him to other theoretical conclusions, confirms for me even more strongly my preciously made conviction.
Although Fabian was the head of the Department for Theoretical Physics at the University of Lwów, he also taught courses in the Department of Mathematics. Here are some of the courses he taught in Mathematics in the 1980s and 1990s.
Summer 1881-82: On the numerical equations (3 hours a week).
Winter 1884-85: The initial parts of mathematics with special attention to the needs of theoretical physics (3 hours a week).
Winter 1888-89: Introduction to the infinitesimal calculus (3 hours a week).
Winter 1890-91: Analytic Geometry (3 hours a week).
Winter 1891-92: Algebraic analysis (3 hours a week).
Winter 1894-95: Higher Algebra (3 hours a week).
Summer 1894-95: Analytic Geometry (3 hours a week).
Winter 1895-96: Numerical equations (2 hours a week).
Winter 1897-98: Analytic Geometry (3 hours a week).
Summer 1897-98: Analytic Geometry, continuation (3 hours a week).
Winter 1898-99: Differential calculus (3 hours a week).
Fabian was a member of the Copernicus Naturalist Society in Lwów. He served as secretary of the Society 1877-80 and president in 1882-83. His inauguration speech at the 12th Congress of the Polish Copernicus Naturalist Society in Lwów was published in the Society's journal Kosmos, see [8].
Winter 1884-85: The initial parts of mathematics with special attention to the needs of theoretical physics (3 hours a week).
Winter 1888-89: Introduction to the infinitesimal calculus (3 hours a week).
Winter 1890-91: Analytic Geometry (3 hours a week).
Winter 1891-92: Algebraic analysis (3 hours a week).
Winter 1894-95: Higher Algebra (3 hours a week).
Summer 1894-95: Analytic Geometry (3 hours a week).
Winter 1895-96: Numerical equations (2 hours a week).
Winter 1897-98: Analytic Geometry (3 hours a week).
Summer 1897-98: Analytic Geometry, continuation (3 hours a week).
Winter 1898-99: Differential calculus (3 hours a week).
In 1886 Fabian published a second textbook [9], a text aimed at university students, Outline of analytical mechanics as an introduction to fundamental physics. He begin the Preface by writing:-
In writing this book, I have tried primarily to define the concepts in such an understandable way so as to avoid any metaphysical influences in the derivation of the laws of mechanics.Fabian died at the age of 53 in 1899 and was buried in the tomb of the family of Wawrzyniec Żmurko in Łyczakowski Cemetery in Lwów, now known as Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv.
References (show)
- S Domoradzki, The growth of mathematical culture in the Lvov area in the autonomy period (1870-1920) (Matfyzpress, Prague, 2011).
- Fabian, Oskar (1846-1899), Mathematiker und Physiker, Austrian Biographical Encyclopedia 1815-1950 1 (1956), 279.
- Fabian, Oskar, Giganci Nauki (2024).
https://gigancinauki.pl/gn/biogramy/82477,Fabian-Oskar.html - O Fabian, O zbieżności i rozbieżności szeregów nieskończonych, Rocznik Towarzystwa technicznego (Lwów) II (1871), 1-18.
- O Fabian, Uginanie się światła i długość fal, Rocznik Towarzystwa technicznego (Lwów) II (1871), 91-150.
- O Fabian, O tak zwanym czwartym stanie skupienia, Proceedings and reports from the meetings of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in the Jagiellonian University, Kraków VIII (1881), 231-267.
- O Fabian, Matematyka dla szkół srednich, napisana wedle systemu i ze współudziałem Wawrzynca Zmurki: I.A. Geometrya na klasy nizsze. Zeszyt I, na 1-sza i 2-ga klase (Nakładem ksiegarni Seyfartha i Czajkowskiego, Lwów, 1876).
- O Fabian, Mowa zagajajaca XII. Walne Zgromadzenie Polskiego Towarzystwa Przyrodnikow imienia Kopernika we Lwowie, Kosmos IX (1884), 37-39.
- O Fabian, Zarys mechaniki analitycznej jako wstep do fizyki umiejetnej (Towarzystwa Pedagogicznego, Lwów, 1886).
- Y Holovatch and R Plyatsko, Physicists and chemists at the University of Lwów in the second half of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century, in M Kokowski (ed), The Global and the Local: The History of Science and the Cultural Integration of Europe. Proceedings of the 2nd ICESHS (Cracow, Poland, 6-9 September 2006), 388-389.
- Oskar Fabian (1846-1899), Polish Scientific and Technological Classics on the Net (2024).
http://hint.org.pl/itd=n56 - Oskar Fabian, Polona (2024).
https://polona.pl/sets?searchCategory=objectSets&page=0&size=24&sort=RELEVANCE&searchLike=%22Oskar%20Fabian%22 - Y Prytula, Mathematics in Lviv, in Leopolis Scientifica. Exact Sciences in Lviv until the middle of the 20th (Lviv, 2021), 145-234.
- A A Rovenchak, Oskar Fabian, the First Head of the Department for Theoretical Physics at the University of Lviv, Acta Physica Polonica A 116 (2) 2009), 109-113.
- A A Rovenchak, Oskar Fabian the first chair of theoretical physics at the University of Lvov, Postępy Fizyki 60 (5) (2009), 205-210.
Cross-references (show)
Written by J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Last Update November 2024
Last Update November 2024