Abstract
In the article, we present operation of the Commission for the History of Mathematics appointed by the Main Board of the Polish Mathematical Society. From 1997 to 2000, the Committee was continuously chaired by Dr. Zofia Pawlikowska-Brożek, PhD in mathematics at the Jagiellonian University in the field of History of Mathematics, a student of an outstanding mathematician and respected teacher, Professor Dr hab. Zdzisław Opial (1930–1974).
Based on the documents, that the author received from the Chair of the Commission, we present how the activities of the Commission contributed to initiation of research on the history of mathematics, and to e creation of a professional community of historians of mathematics in Poland.
The history of mathematics has been a discipline well known in Kraków since the times of Ludwik A. Birkenmajer (1855–1929). His activities were successfully continued by Z. Opial. The issues of Kraków center for history of mathematics were presented by Domoradzki 2020; and Kokowski 2020, among others.
An important inspiration for the activities of the Committee were initiatives undertaken by the Department of History of Science, Education, and Technology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in agreement with the Committee of the History of Science and Technology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, in which the Chairwoman of the Committee actively participated.
The materials presented in the work cover also the period before the establishment of the Commission for the History of Mathematics.
