Joanna Narutowicz
Joanna Narutowicz | |
|---|---|
 Narutowicz in 1916 | |
| Born | 21 March 1868 |
| Died | 19 February 1948 (aged 79) |
| Burial place | Powązki Cemetery |
| Alma mater | University of Zurich |
| Occupation | Educational activist |
| Spouse | Stanisław Narutowicz |
| Children | Kazimierz Narutowicz |
| Relatives | Sister Sofija Bilevičiūtė-Zubovienė Brother Konrad Billewicz Cousin Józef Piłsudski |
Joanna Narutowicz
Biography
Early life and education
Narutowicz was born in the Billewicz family, an old family of Samogitian nobility. She was a daughter of Hipolit Billewicz and Helena née Dowgird. Her siblings included educator Sofija Bilevičiūtė-Zubovienė and chemical engineer Konrad Billewicz.
She attended schools in
The couple briefly lived in Warsaw and Vilnius before moving to her husband's estate in Brėvikiai.[1] From 1891 to 1899 and 1904 to 1907, she worked as a teacher at a folk school in Brėvikiai, where she taught peasant children in Lithuanian.[4] In 1899–1904, she lived in Kalisz, where she set up daycare facilities for workers' children.[4]
Educator
In 1907, she moved to Telšiai, where she established a private four-class progymnasium for girls.[6] It was the first school of its kind in Lithuania, where Polish and Lithuanian were taught alongside Russian.[4] She taught Polish language.[7] In July 1908, a great fire broke out in Telšiai and burned down more than 300 buildings. The school building was not affected, but local parents suffered financial losses and could not afford to pay for their daughters' education. A local noble agreed to donate a good portion of the tuition fees, while Narutowicz covered the rest from personal funds thus saving the school.[8] In spring 1913, the school had a total of 114 students (32 Lithuanians, 42 Jews, 32 Poles, and 8 Russians).[6] She also worked at the boys' gymnasium co-founded by her husband in 1909 in Telšiai.[3]
In spring 1915, during the First World War, she evacuated to
In 1926, she moved to Kaunas where she worked at the Polish Educational Society Pochodnia and taught philosophy, logic, and psychology at the Polish-language Adam Mickiewicz Gymnasium in Kaunas.[4][1] In 1929–1934, she was vice-rector of this gymnasium.[1] She was also protector of the Polish female academic corporation Znicz, founded in Kaunas in 1930. For health reasons, she retired from professional work in 1935[4] and returned to Brėvikiai.[1]
During the Second World War, she lived in Brėvikiai and hid two Jewish girls from the Germans.[1] In 1945, she came to Warsaw to live with her daughter Zofia Krassowska. She died on 19 February 1948 and is buried at Powązki Cemetery.[4]
Marriage and children
In 1889, she married Stanisław Narutowicz. They had four children:[9]
- Zofia Gabriela Krassowska (1893–1976), psychologist
- Jan Hipolit (1896–1930), biologist
- Helena Wiktoria (1899–1942)
- Kazimierz (1904–1987)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Laukytė, Nijolė (21 March 2023). "Joana Bilevičiūtė-Narutavičienė – moteris, buvusi šviesa tamsoje" (in Lithuanian). Žemaičių muziejus "Alka". Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ ISSN 0463-6309.
- ^ a b "Lietuvos Tarybos narys iš Žemaitijos – Stanislovas Narutavičius" (in Lithuanian). Voruta. 10 January 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
- ^ Polski Słownik Biograficzny(in Polish). Vol. 22. Wrocław: Polish Academy of Sciences. p. 579.
- ^ a b Bednarczuk, Monika (2020). "Akademicka „międzynarodówka" kobieca? Solidarność, rywalizacja i samotność w Szwajcarii (1870–1900)" [An academic women's "international"? Solidarity, rivalry and loneliness in Switzerland (1870-1900)] (PDF). Wielogłos. Pismo Wydziału Polonistyki UJ. 2: 16.
- ^ ISSN 1392-0316.
- ^ Kymantaitė, Sofija (5 February 1909). "Telšių mergaičių progimnazija" (PDF). Lietuva. 6 (XVIII): 2.
- ^ ISBN 9785420017135.
- ^ Akmenytė-Ruzgienė, Vilma (23 May 2023). "Stanislovas Narutavičius (1862–1932)" (in Lithuanian). Seimas. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
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