Wilfrid Voynich facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wilfrid Voynich
|
|
|---|---|
| Wilfrid Michał Habdank-Wojnicz | |
Voynich in 1900
|
|
| Born | 12 November 1865 Telšiai, then Russian Empire (now Lithuania)
|
| Died | 19 March 1930 (aged 64) New York City, New York, U.S.
|
| Nationality | Polish |
| Occupation | Revolutionary, Antiquarian Book Dealer |
| Known for | Discovery of the Voynich manuscript |
| Spouse(s) |
|
Wilfrid Voynich (born Michał Habdank-Wojnicz; 1865–1930) was a fascinating person from Poland. He was a revolutionary, which means he worked to change the government. He also became an expert in old and rare books, known as an antiquarian.
Voynich ran one of the biggest businesses for rare books in the world. But he is most famous for something else: he discovered a very mysterious book called the Voynich manuscript. This book is still a puzzle today!
Contents
Early Life and Education
Michał Habdank-Wojnicz was born in a town called Telšiai. At that time, it was part of the Russian Empire, but today it is in Lithuania. His family was a Polish-Lithuanian noble family. The "Habdank" part of his name comes from a famous Polish family symbol. His father was a Polish official.
He went to a gimnazjum (a type of high school) in Suwałki, Poland. After that, he studied at universities in Warsaw, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. He finished his studies at Moscow University, where he learned chemistry. He even became a licensed pharmacist.
A Revolutionary's Journey
In 1885, when he was in Warsaw, Voynich joined a revolutionary group. This group was called Proletariat. They wanted to change the way the government worked.
In 1886, Voynich was arrested by the Russian police. This happened after an attempt to help some friends who were also revolutionaries. In 1887, he was sent to a forced labor camp in Tunka, a remote place in Siberia.
While he was in Siberia, Voynich learned a little bit of eighteen different languages. This shows how smart and determined he was!
In June 1890, he managed to escape from Siberia. He traveled west by train and eventually reached London in October 1890.
Life in London and New York
When he first arrived in London, Voynich used a different name, Ivan Kel'chevskii. He worked with another revolutionary, Stepniak. They were part of a group called the Society of Friends of Russian Freedom. This group worked against the Russian government.
After Stepniak died in an accident in 1895, Voynich stopped his revolutionary work. He then started a new career.
Around 1897, Voynich became an antiquarian bookseller. This means he bought and sold very old and rare books. He opened his first bookshop in Soho Square in London in 1898. He was very good at finding rare books. For example, in 1902, he found a special Bible in Italy.
In 1902, he married Ethel Lilian Boole. She was also a former revolutionary. Her father was a famous British mathematician named George Boole. Voynich became a British citizen on April 25, 1904. He officially changed his name to Wilfrid Michael Voynich.
In 1914, Voynich opened another bookshop in New York. When World War I started, he spent more and more time in New York. He became very involved in the rare book business. He even wrote many catalogs and articles about old books.
In 1917, he moved his London bookshop to Piccadilly. Also in 1917, the FBI looked into Voynich. They heard rumors about him having a secret code called Bacon's cipher. The FBI report noted that he had manuscripts from the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. His books were worth a lot of money, about half a million dollars at the time! But the investigation didn't find anything serious, just that he owned a very old secret code.
Wilfrid Voynich passed away in New York in 1930.
The Mysterious Voynich Manuscript
The most famous thing Wilfrid Voynich ever owned was a very mysterious book. He said he bought this manuscript in 1912 in Italy. He first showed it to the public in 1915.
Scientists have used carbon-dating to study the book. This method showed that the materials used to make the book were from between 1404 and 1438. However, the book itself might have been written later.
Voynich owned this strange and puzzling manuscript until he died. To this day, no one has fully understood what the Voynich manuscript says! It's written in an unknown language or code, and its purpose remains a mystery.
Images for kids
-
In Spanish: Wilfrid M. Voynich para niños
