Jan Brożek

Jan Brożek, also Johannes Broscius (1585 to 1652), was the most prominent Polish mathematician of his era and an early biographer of Nicolaus Copernicus. Born in Kurzelów in south-central Poland, he enrolled in the Kraków Academy, now Jagiellonian University, in 1604, earned his magister degree in 1610 under the influence of the Belgian mathematician Adriaan van Roomen, and was appointed professor of astrology there in 1614. In 1618 he travelled to Toruń, Gdańsk and Frombork to gather material for a biography of Copernicus, and he also became adept at land surveys. He studied medicine at Padua from 1620, took a doctorate in 1623, and served as physician to the bishop of Kraków. He sided with the university against Jesuit dominance, was custodian of the university library from 1632 to 1638 and donated his library to the university in 1639. He held numerous ecclesiastical offices and was associated with the Kraków Academy for his entire career.