OCHOROWICZ, Julian

After finishing the gymnasium in Lubin, O. began studying at the Faculty of Philology and History of the Warsaw College in 1866. After his first year of study, he transferred to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. He received his diploma at the University of Warsaw in 1872. With the publication of his work Introduction to and General Reflections on Positive Philosophy (Einführung und allgemeine Betrachtung über positive Philosophie), he became one of the leading Polish positivists. In 1873, his work on the physiology and psychology of the human brain and nervous system earned him the title doctor of philosophy at the University of Leipzig. In 1875, as an assistant professor, he left for the University of Lwow, where he started researching psychology, parapsychology, electricity, and electromagnetism. At that time, he published several treatises in the Kosmos newspaper, being one of the first to scientifically describe the theoretical foundations of the television set. In 1882, he moved to Paris, where the support of his friend Bruno →Abdank-Abakanowicz enabled him to carry out research work in the field of psychology and electrotechnics. O. gained great recognisability primarily as a constructor and inventor. His first invention was a portable telegraph. He also designed new types of carbon microphone, thermal microphone, and magnetic telephone. Great interest was taken in the telephone with two diaphragms; it was a telephone that transmitted sounds very loudly. It was a precursor of the loudspeaker. The French post office and army devoted a great deal of attention to his inventions, which enabled him to sell patents and led to the mass production of his inventions. Experiments with his apparatuses were also conducted in Warsaw, where a subsidiary of the company „Abakanowicz u. Ges.” assembled parts that had been manufactured in France. In 1885, he won a tender by the Russian Technical Society in St. Petersburg and his devices began to be used systematically in Russia. In 1898, he returned to Warsaw, where he conducted research on hypnosis and telepathy. In the process, he also used instruments, such as the chronograph, cryptometer, and galvanometer, which he himself constructed. In 1906, the Parisian International Institute of Psychology chose him as its president.