Jan Brożek

John Broscius (Polish: January Brożek; born November 1, 1585 Kurzelów, today Holy Cross Voivodeship, † November 21, 1652 in Bronowice ) was a Polish polymath, mathematician, physician and astronomer.

Life

John Broscius lived in Krakow and Międzyrzec Podlaski. From 1632 to his death he had a parish. Broscius had mathematics, medicine, theology and geodesy at the Kraków Academy (now known as the Jagiellonian University ) and studied at the University of Padua. Later he was Rector of the Jagiellonian University.

Broscius traveled around 1612 in Warmia and took permission from the then Bishop Simon Rudnicki a series of letters and documents relating to Nicolaus Copernicus with to Krakow. The planned biography was never written, the documents were lost after his death.

He was the most famous Polish mathematician of the 17th century and worked on the theory of numbers (especially perfect numbers) and geometry. Among the problems he had tackled was the question of why bees make hexagonal honeycomb. He proved that it is the most efficient way of using honey and wax.

He died in Bronowice, now a district of Krakow. One of the later buildings of the Jagiellonian University, Collegium Broscianum, bears his name in his honor.