Adam Bruno Wikszemski

Adam Bruno Wikszemski
Born(1847-10-18)18 October 1847
Nyasvizh
Died10 February 1890(1890-02-10) (aged 42)
Berlin
Alma materUniversity of Dorpat
Known forPioneer of phonographic recording
Scientific career
FieldsAnatomy, medicine
InstitutionsUniversity of Dorpat
Signature

Adam Bruno Wikszemski (18 October 1847 – 10 February 1890) was a Polish physician, anatomist, and pioneer of phonographic recording.

Biography

He was the son of Franciszek (d. 1883 in Dorpat) and nephew of Stanisław (1807–1875), physicians from Vilnius. The noble Wikszemski family used the Jelita coat of arms. Adam's grandfather, Gabriel, owned an estate in Baranivka in the Zhytomyr district.[1]

Adam Wikszemski graduated from gymnasium in Vitebsk in 1865 (according to other sources in Vilnius[2][3]) and began his studies at the University of Dorpat, first in the chemistry department, then in the medical department. During his studies he belonged to the Konwent Polonia.[4] He received his doctorate in medical sciences in 1875 based on a dissertation on the properties of cowbane.[5] He subsequently became a supernumerary prosector at the Anatomical Institute and assistant to Ludwig Stieda. He served as prosector from 1887 to 1889. After Stieda's departure from Dorpat to Königsberg, he taught anatomy until the chair was assumed by August Rauber.[6] During the Russo-Turkish War, he ran the surgical clinic in place of Ernst von Bergmann. He simultaneously maintained his own medical practice. He held the rank of Collegiate Councillor.[7] He was a member of the Estonian Naturalists' Society.[8] Due to university policy, forced by the Tsarist authorities, he did not receive a docentship, despite the patronage of Professor Stieda. Benedykt Dybowski wrote about this in his memoirs:[9]

As for Dorpat itself, Professors Bidder, Flor and Schwarz informed me when I visited them in Dorpat that the university would not nominate any Pole for a tenured docentship, as a confidential notification had arrived from the ministry that no such nomination would be approved. For example, Professor Stieda had nominated his assistant Dr. Wikszemski for a tenured prosector position and anatomy docent, but the medical faculty did not approve this nomination, unwilling to go against the wishes of the ministry of education.

On 6 November 1889, Wikszemski patented an invention in the Berlin patent office for a "device for phonographic recording of sound vibrations". The device consisted of a rotating cylinder winding photographic paper, and a system of mirrors reflecting light rays onto the surface of the housing in which the cylinder was enclosed. One of the mirrors was connected to a membrane that vibrated under the influence of sound waves, which could be registered on the photographic paper in the form of a graph. The invention was recognized as pioneering in the work of Parfentiev,[10] and an article was devoted to it in the Phonographic Review. According to the authors of these works, the device designed by Wikszemski enabled one-sided lateral sound recording, for which reading however required the invention of the phototube.[11]

Mykola Vasylenko wrote about the "pale, sickly" Polish docent Wikszemski in his memoirs.[12] On 21 November 1889, Wikszemski submitted his resignation, writing that he was suffering from pyelonephritis and required surgery.[13] He died three months later in Berlin, where he had gone for treatment. The funeral was organized by Professor Bergmann.[14] His death was announced by the St. Petersburg newspaper Kraj[15] and the medical press: Gazeta Lekarska,[16] Medycyna,[17] and Przegląd Lekarski.[18]

Works

  • Beiträge zur Kenntniss der giftigen Wirkung des Wasserschierlings [Contributions to the Knowledge of the Toxic Effect of Water Hemlock] (in German). Dorpat: C. Mattiesen. 1875. pp. 1–58.
  • "Eine Modification der von Pansch empfohlenen kalten Injection mit Kleistermasse" [A Modification of the Cold Injection with Paste Mass Recommended by Pansch]. Archiv für Anatomie und Entwickelungsgeschichte (in German). 6: 232–234. 1880.
  • "Verfahren zur Herstellung der Phonogrammen. Erben des verstorbenen Dr. A. Wikszemski in Dorpat, Rusland. Nr. 53641 vom 6. November 1889. Kl. 42" [Process for the Production of Phonograms. Heirs of the Late Dr. A. Wikszemski in Dorpat, Russia. No. 53641 of 6 November 1889. Class 42]. Zeitschrift für Instrumentenkunde (in German). 11 (1): 110. 1891.
  • "Verfahren zur Wiedergabe von Lauten oder Tönen mittels bandförmiger Phonogramme. Erben des Dr. A. Wikszemski in Dorpat. Nr. 53944 vom 6. November 1889. Kl. 42" [Process for the Reproduction of Sounds or Tones by Means of Band-Shaped Phonograms. Heirs of Dr. A. Wikszemski in Dorpat. No. 53944 of 6 November 1889. Class 42]. Zeitschrift für Instrumentenkunde (in German). 11 (1): 110. 1891.

References

  1. ^ Szarejko, Piotr (1995). Słownik lekarzy polskich XIX wieku [Dictionary of Polish Physicians of the 19th Century] (in Polish). Vol. 3. Semper. p. 392. ISBN 83-85810-82-X.
  2. ^ Kośmiński, Stanisław L. (1883). Słownik lekarzów polskich obejmujący oprócz krótkich życiorysów lekarzy polaków oraz cudzoziemców w Polsce osiadłych, dokładną bibliografią lekarską polską od czasów najdawniejszych aż do chwili obecnej [Dictionary of Polish Physicians, Including Not Only Brief Biographies of Polish Doctors and Foreigners Residing in Poland, but Also a Comprehensive Polish Medical Bibliography from the Earliest Times Up to the Present] (in Polish). Warsaw: Gebethner i Wolff. p. 546.
  3. ^ "Vypuskniki Vilenskoy 1-y gimnazii za 1837–1903 gg" Выпускники Виленской 1-й гимназии за 1837-1903 гг. [Graduates of the Vilna First Gymnasium for 1837-1903]. kdkv.narod.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  4. ^ "Konwent Polonia - lista członków 1828 - 1939" [Konwent Polonia - List of Members 1828 - 1939]. www.konwentpolonia.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  5. ^ Hasselblatt, Arnold; Otto, Gustav (1889). Album academicum der Kaiserlichen Universität Dorpat [Academic Album of the Imperial University of Dorpat] (in German). p. 587.
  6. ^ Toomsalu, M. (2009). "August Rauber′s Tartu Period and Creation of the Professorship of Anthropology at the University of Tartu". Papers on Anthropology. 18: 372–381.
  7. ^ Brennsohn, Isidorus (1905). Die Aerzte Livlands von den ältesten Zeiten bis zur Gegenwart. Ein biographisches Lexikon nebst einer historischen Einleitung über das Medizinalwesen Livlands [The Physicians of Livonia from the Earliest Times to the Present. A Biographical Lexicon with a Historical Introduction on the Medical System of Livonia] (in German). p. 428.
  8. ^ "Mitglieder der Dorpater Naturforscher Gesellschaft" [Members of the Dorpat Naturalists' Society]. Sitzungberichte der Naturforscher-Gesellschaft bei der Universitaet Dorpat (in German). 9: 195. 1892.
  9. ^ Dybowski, B. (1912). O Syberyi i Kamczatce: Cz. 1, Podróż z Warszawy na Kamczatkę [On Siberia and Kamchatka: Part 1, Journey from Warsaw to Kamchatka] (in Polish). Kraków: Gebethner i Wolff. p. 33.
  10. ^ Kaknerovich, A. N.; Parfentyev, A. I.; Khrushchev, A. A.; Tajer, P. G. (1950). Zvukotekhnika kinematografii Звукотехника кинематографии [Sound Engineering in Cinematography] (in Russian). Moscow: Goskinoizdat. pp. 7–8.
  11. ^ Ziemacki, W. (1953). "Adam Wikszemski – polski pionier fonografii" [Adam Wikszemski – Polish Pioneer of Phonography]. Biuletyn fonograficzny (in Polish). 1: 81–83.
  12. ^ Vasylenko, Mykola (2008). Vybrani tvory: u trokhs tomakh Вибрані твори: у трьох томах [Selected Works: In Three Volumes] (in Russian). Yurydychna Dumka. p. 145.
  13. ^ Toomsalu, Maie (2006). Professors of the Old Anatomical Theatre of University of Tartu. Tartu. p. 92. ISBN 9985-4-0495-5. OCLC 180086172.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Heinrich, Edward (1917). Luźne kartki ze wspomnień uniwersyteckich [Loose Pages from University Memoirs] (in Polish). Warsaw: E. Wende.
  15. ^ "Nekrologja" [Obituary]. Kraj (in Polish). 9 (7): 16. 16 February 1890.
  16. ^ "Wiadomości bieżące" [Current News]. Gazeta Lekarska (in Polish). 10 (14): 287. 5 April 1890.
  17. ^ "Zmarli" [Deceased]. Medycyna (in Polish). 18 (14): 224. 24 March 1890.
  18. ^ "Zmarli" [Deceased]. Przegląd Lekarski (in Polish). 29 (11): 150. 15 March 1890.
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