We bid farewell to Dr. Cecylia Iwaniszewska
On April 5, Dr. Cecylia Iwaniszewska passed away—an astronomer, author of scientific works in astrophysics and stellar astronomy, a respected academic lecturer, social activist, and popularizer of astronomy.
“A remarkable woman in every respect—an astronomer, a social activist, long-time president of the Catholic Intelligentsia Club in Toruń. She was a person of great integrity. She lived a long, good, and beautiful life. I personally owe her a great deal […]” wrote Marshal Piotr Całbecki on social media.
It can be said that she did not choose astronomy—astronomy chose her. In the mid-1940s, while in her third year of mathematics at the newly established Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, she was offered a junior assistant position by the legendary Professor Wilhelmina Iwanowska, co-founder and creator of the Toruń school of astronomy and mentor to many Polish astrophysicists. “At that time, the foundations of the observatory were being laid, observations were underway, and support staff were becoming necessary,” Dr. Iwaniszewska recalled in an interview for our portal www.kujawsko-pomorskie.pl in March 2017. Her doctoral dissertation, which she defended in 1959, concerned the distribution of stars and clouds of dust matter in one of the constellations of the Milky Way, based on her own observations and telescope photographs.
She was the first graduate of astronomy in the history of Nicolaus Copernicus University. She also devoted her professional life to the Toruń-based institution. At the university, she lectured for 40 years, serving as an assistant professor and senior lecturer; for several years, she also held positions as deputy head of the Institute of Astronomy at the university and chair of the Teaching Section of the International Astronomical Union. She authored numerous scientific studies as well as works popularizing astronomy.
For many years, she was also deeply engaged in social activity. She was active in the Catholic Intelligentsia Club in Toruń (serving as president from 1994 to 2017), as well as in, among others, the Polish Society of Amateur Astronomers, the Friends of Toruń Society, and the “Lutnia” Choral Society.
In 2017, she was awarded the highest distinction granted by the Marshal—the Unitas Durat Palatinatus Cuiaviano-Pomeraniensis medal.
Press Office of the Marshal’s Office
April 7, 2026