Biography:Sylwester Kaliski

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Short description: Polish engineer, professor and general


Sylwester Kaliski
Minister of Science, Higher Education and Technology
In office
16 September 1978 – 17 December 1974
Preceded byJan Kaczmarek
Succeeded byJanusz Górski
Personal details
Born17 December 1925
Toruń, Second Polish Republic
Died16 September 1978(1978-09-16) (aged 52)
Warsaw, Poland
Political partyPolish United Workers' Party
Awards(see below)
Military service
AllegiancePolish People's Republic
Branch/servicePolish People's Army
Years of service1949–1978
Rank40px Generał dywizji (Major general)

Sylwester Kaliski (19 December 1925 – 16 September 1978) was a Polish engineer, professor and military general. He was a member of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN).

Born in Toruń, Kaliski was a specialist in the field of applied physics. He developed the theory of continuous amplification of ultra and hyper-sounds in semiconductive crystals and obtained plasma temperature of tens of millions of kelvins using laser impulse. He died in Warsaw, Poland in car crash. It has been speculated that Kaliski was killed by the Soviet KGB, as he headed the Polish clandestine program of developing thermonuclear devices intended for military use. The program began on orders from the highest levels of Polish communists and was reportedly opposed by the Soviet Union.[1] He was honored with an entry in the "Honorary Book of Soldierly Deeds" in 1973.[2]

Awards and decorations

  • 60px Order of the Builders of People's Poland (posthumously, 1978)
  • 60px Order of the Banner of Labour, 1st Class (1968)
  • 60px Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1973)[3]
  • 60px Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1961)
  • 60px Gold Cross of Merit (1957)
  • 60px Medal of the 30th Anniversary of People's Poland (1974)
  • 60px Gold Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland (1970)
  • 60px Silver Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland
  • 60px Bronze Medal of the Armed Forces in the Service of the Fatherland
  • 60px Gold Medal of Merit for National Defence (1974)
  • 60px Silver Medal of Merit for National Defence
  • 60px Bronze Medal of Merit for National Defence
  • 60px Order of Military Merit with Great Star (Yugoslavia, 1967)
  • 60px Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry (Portugal, 1976)
  • 60px Order of Friendship of Peoples (Soviet Union, 1973)

References

  1. "Bomba Kaliskiego – polskie badania termojądrowe" (in pl). histmag.org. https://histmag.org/Bomba-Kaliskiego-polskie-badania-termojadrowe-15929. Retrieved 1 August 2019. 
  2. Amrozy, Katarzyna (2015-12-31). "26 lat historii Wojska Polskiego [recenzja książki Kontyngenty Wojska Polskiego w międzynarodowych operacjach pokojowych w latach 1973–1999]". Nowa Polityka Wschodnia 9 (2): 178–179. doi:10.15804/npw2015212. ISSN 2084-3291. 
  3. Matczuk, Ewa (2019-05-24). "Sprawozdanie z konferencji "Dostęp do otwartych źródeł naukowych w szkole – jak szukać, żeby znaleźć", Lublin 29 października 2018". Folia Bibliologica 60: 239. doi:10.17951/fb.2018.60.239-240. ISSN 2449-8246. http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/fb.2018.60.239-240.