Eugeniusz Wielisław Skrodzki

Eugeniusz ‘Wielisław’ Skrodzki (1821–1896) was the son of Józef Skrodzki, professor of physics and zoology, man of letters, diarist, and the Dean and last Vice-Chancellor of Warsaw University (1831-1832). The Skrodzkis lived in Kazimierz Palace, as did the Chopins, and while Eugeniusz was considerably younger than Fryderyk, he cherished the memories he had of him. Skrodzki had the good fortune to meet a lot of outstanding people in his youth, including Joachim Lelewel, Kazimierz Brodziński, Aleksander Fredro and Wincenty Pol. His chatty, curious and colourful articles were published in e.g. ‘Bluszcz’ [Ivy], ‘Kłosy’ [Spikes], ‘Tygodnik Ilustrowany’ [Illustrated Weekly], ‘Biesiada Literacka’ [Literary Feast] and ‘Wędrowiec’ [The Wayfarer]. His collected memoirs, entitled Wieczory piątkowe i inne gawędy [Friday Evenings and Other Tales], were only published by the P.I.W. [State Publishing Institute] in 1962.