Jan Krzysztof Kluk

Jan Krzysztof Kluk (September 13, 1739 – July 2, 1796) was a Polish naturalist agronomist and entomologist.

He was the son of Jan Krzysztof and Marianna Elżbieta. His father, a nobleman turned poor, was an architect, mainly of churches. Jan Krzysztof Kluk went to school in Warsaw, later in Drohiczyn, and finally in the Piarists school in Łuków. In 1763 he finished his Seminary for missionaries in the Holy Cross Church of Warsaw. From 1763-67 he was a domestic chaplain attached to the noble household of Tomasza Ossolińskiego, the starosta of Nur. From 1767-70 he was the vicar of the parish of Winna, he later became vicar of the parish of Ciechanowiec, a position he kept until his death.

He was a man with universal interests, but first of all was known as naturalist studying mainly the regions of Podlaskie and Masovia. He had great abilities in drawing and engraving, which permitted him to illustrate his later works.

Princess Anna Jabłonowska gave him access to the great library and natural science collections in her palace of Siemiatycze. Many of his published works made breakthrough in contemporary Polish natural sciences and agricultural.

He lived all his life and died in Ciechanowiec. He was a Catholic priest, and vicar of Ciechanowiec. Kluk described several taxa of Lepidoptera including the Holarctic Nymphalis, the South American genus Heliconius, and the genus Danaus in which is placed the monarch.

There is a Krzysztof Kluk Museum of Agriculture in Ciechanowiec.

He wrote a multi-volume work Zwierząt domowych i dzikich, osobliwie krajowych historii naturalnej początki i gospodarstwo (in English The natural history of domestic and national (Polish) wild animals and animals of the farm) published in Warszawa in 1780. Another notable Kluk's work in three volumes entitled Dykcjonarz roślinny... (in English Dictionary of Plants) was published from 1786 to 1788 in Warsaw (volume I - 1786, volume II - 1787, volume III - 1788). The Dictionary contains entries in Latin alphabetical order that comprise 1,536 species of plants of Polish and foreign origin. Importantly, not only Latin but also Polish names were given.

Prof. Gabriel Brzęk wrote several biographical books about Jan Krzysztof Kluk:

• Krzysztof Kluk jako szermierz postępowych idei społecznych polskiego Oświecenia (1958)
• Krzysztof Kluk (1739-1796) jako przyrodnik polskiego oświecenia (1973)
• Krzysztof Kluk (1977)