HISTORICAL ALMANAC

Summary

The article is devoted to Julian Ochorowicz – a Polish psychologist, inventor and precur-sor of Positivism in Warsaw. The author mainly focuses on his ten-year-long stay in the town of Wisła in the Śląsk Cieszyński region, and particularly on his social and scientifc activi-ties and personal life. After reaching an inter national fame as an outstanding scientist, who invented innovative phone models, and also as a psychologist attracting crowds of patients to his ofce in Paris, he decided to return to homeland. However, his nationals, especially the scientifc community, took his comeback somewhat reservedly, denying controversial propositions about using hypnosis in medicine. After tiring struggles with Polish doctors and a scandal directly connected with his divorce, Ochorowicz wanted to fnd a place to rest and concentrate on his researches. He decided to stay in the picturesque town of Wisła, devoting himself to mediumship experiments and work with his medium – Stanisława Tom-czykówna. The main source of his revenues was hiring out very attractive villas which he had designed and built. These exclusive houses attracted tenants among the Warsaw intelli-gentsia. In this period, Ochorowicz was also involved in social activities and supported the development of the town of Wisła. Isolation from cultural centres hindered his contacts with the scientifc community. However, West European scientifc journals published Ochorow-icz’s works about mediumship with unceasing interest and appreciation.