Kazimierz Siemienowicz (born c.1600 - c.1651) was a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth nobleman (szlachcic), General of artillery, gunsmith, military engineer, artillery specialist and pioneer of rocketry. His coat of arms was Ostoja.

Born in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Siemenowicz was educated in part in the Netherlands, where he was sent by the King Wladyslaw IV to serve in the army of Duke Frederick Henry of Oran during the war with Spain. From 1648 he served as Second in Command of Polish Royal Artillery, as an expert in the field of artillery and rocketry.

He is famous for his work Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima. Only the first part was finished before his death, although it is rumored he did write a manuscript before his death.

Fundamental work

"Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima" ("Great Art of Artillery, the First Part". also known as "The Complete Art of Artillery") in Amsterdam, was translated to French in 1651, German in 1676, English and Dutch in 1729 and Polish in 1963.

For over two centuries this work was used in Europe as a basic artillery manual. The book provided the standard designs for creating rockets, fireballs, and other pyrotechnic devices. It contains a large chapter on caliber, construction, production and properties of rockets (for both military and civil purposes), including multi-stage rockets, batteries of rockets, and rockets with delta wing stabilizers (instead of the common guiding rods ).

See also

• hetman

References

• Tadeusz Nowak "Kazimierz Siemienowicz, ca.1600-ca.1651", MON Press, Warsaw 1969

External links

• Pictures of Siemennowicz desings
• Short bio and 20th century picture on Uranos.org
• Short bio and few pics