Henryk Merczyng

Henryk Merczyng (, alias Edward Czyński; 5 February 1860 – 14 September 1916) was a physicist, professor of electrical engineering at St. Petersburg Institute of Communication Engineers, pioneer of railway electrification projects, amateur historian and demographer.

Biography Merczyng was born on 5 February 1860 in Zgierz, Russian Empire (now Poland) to a Calvinist family of Jan Karol Merczyng and Matylda née Schlabic. His father was a known architect from Łęczyca County.

Physicist and engineer In 1890 Merczyng started lecturing on electrical engineering and telegraphy. He established the first electrotechnical laboratory at the university. One of his lab assistants was the noted Polish hydrologist Alfred Rundo. Since 1892, he had been employed as an adjunct professor. He became an associate professor in 1896 and was granted full professorship in electrical engineering in 1904. During his career as a professor, he supervised some of the first diploma theses on the subjects of electric power systems (tramway, railway, and hydropower) and electrification of rolling stock repair plants. He also taught at the St. Petersburg Electrotechnical Institute. and participated in works of the engineering council of the Russian Ministry of Communication. He was the primary initiator of plans for the electrification of Russian railways and developed pioneering projects in this area: the St. Petersburg junction, the Transcaucasus railways (1911), and the Moscow junction (1912). In his 1909 work, Merczyng wrote that the Russian Census may have incorrectly classified up to half a million Poles as another (Belarusian) nationality. Merczyng's map from 1909 was included in Olgelbrand's Encyclopedia.

He is considered one of the pioneers of research on the history of Polish nontrinitarianism (especially Arianism).

Selected works "O Własnościach Ogniskowych Siatek Dyfrakcyjnych" (1882) ("On the Focal Properties of Diffraction Gratings") "Mikołaj Kopernik. Życie i Działalność Naukowa" (1888) ("Nicolaus Copernicus. Life and Scientific Activity") "Zasady Elektrotechniki" (1889) ("Principles of Electrotechnics") "Dumania Przyrodnika" (1900) (Reflections of a Naturalist) "Teorya Prądu Elektrycznego. Zarys Zasadniczych Praw Ustalonego i Nieustalonego Prądu Elektrycznego i Towarzyszących mu Zakłóceń Magnetycznych. Podstawy Elektromagnetycznej Teoryi Światła" (1905) ("Theory of Electric Current: Outline of Fundamental Laws of Steady and Transient Electric Current and its Accompanying Magnetic Disturbances. Foundations of the Electromagnetic Theory of Light") "Podręcznik Matematyczny Szkół Polskich za Zygmunta III" (1907) ("Mathematics Textbook of Polish Schools during the Reign of Sigismund III") "The Unitarian Movement in Poland from 1560-1660", International Congress of Free Christianity and Religious Progress (5th: 1910: Berlin, Germany) "O Zasadzie Względności w Pojęciu Fizycznym Czasu i Przestrzeni. Hipotezy Lorentza i Einsteina" (1911) ("On the Principle of Relativity in the Physical Meaning of Time and Space. The Hypotheses of Lorentz and Einstein") ) "Mapa Litwy z r. 1613 ks. Radziwiłła Sierotki pod Względem Matematycznym i Kartograficznym" (1913) ("The 1613 Map of Lithuania by Prince Radziwiłł Sierotka from a Mathematical and Cartographic Perspective") "Szymon Budny jako Krytyk Tekstów Biblijnych" (1913) ("Szymon Budny as a Critic of Biblical Texts")