Jan Śniadecki (August 28, 1756 in Żnin - November 9, 1830 in Jaszuny near Wilno), greatest Polish mathematician, philosopher and astronomer at the turn of the 18th century.

He studied at the Jagiellonian University and in Paris. He was rector of the Stefan Batory University in Wilno, member of the Commission of National Education and director of astronomical observatories in Kraków and Wilno.

Śniadecki published many works, including his observations on recently discovered planetoids. His observations, contained in O rachunku losów (On the Calculation of Chances, 1817) on the possibilities of a theory of probability, were of a pioneer nature. His brother was Jędrzej Śniadecki.

Works

• "Rachunku algebraicznego teoria" (1783)
• "Geografia, czyli opisanie matematyczne i fizyczne ziemi" (1804)
• "O Koperniku" (1802)
• "O rachunku losów" (1817)
• "Trygonometria kulista analitycznie wyłożona" (1817)
• "O pismach klasycznych i romantycznych", Dziennik Wileński (1819)
• "Filozofia umysłu ludzkiego" (1821)