Editing Wacław Sierpiński (section)

==Early life and education==
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Sierpiński was born in 1882 in Warsaw, [[Congress Poland]], to a doctor father Konstanty and mother Ludwika (''née'' Łapińska).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sejm-wielki.pl/b/psb.29410.1 |language=pl |title=Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński |access-date=23 November 2024}}</ref> His abilities in mathematics were evident from childhood. He enrolled in the Department of Mathematics and Physics at the [[University of Warsaw]] in 1899 and graduated five years later.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bialczynski.pl/2015/08/20/wielcy-polacy-waclaw-sierpinski-1882-1969-genialny-matematyk/ |language=pl |title=Wielcy Polacy – Wacław Sierpiński (1882 – 1969) – genialny matematyk, Trójkąt, Wolna Wola, Gra w Chaos i Cud nad Wisłą 1920. |website=bialczynski.pl |date=20 August 2015 |access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref> 

In 1903, while still at the University of Warsaw, the Department of Mathematics and Physics offered a prize for the best essay from a student on [[Georgy Voronoy|Voronoy]]'s contribution to number theory. Sierpiński was awarded a gold medal for his essay, thus laying the foundation for his first major mathematical contribution. Unwilling for his work to be published in [[Russian language|Russian]], he withheld it until 1907, when it was published in [[Samuel Dickstein (mathematician)|Samuel Dickstein]]'s mathematical magazine 'Prace Matematyczno-Fizyczne' (Polish: 'The Works of Mathematics and Physics').

After his graduation in 1904, Sierpiński worked as a school teacher of mathematics and physics in Warsaw. However, when the school closed because of a strike, Sierpiński decided to go to [[Kraków]] to pursue a [[doctorate]]. At the [[Jagiellonian University]] in Kraków, he attended lectures by [[Stanisław Zaremba (mathematician)|Stanisław Zaremba]] on [[mathematics]]. He also studied [[astronomy]] and [[philosophy]]. In 1906, he received his doctorate and in 1908 was appointed to the [[University of Lwów]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Engelking |first=Ryszard |title=Wacław Sierpiński (1882–1969) His Life and Work in Topology |publisher=Springer |year=1998 |isbn=978-90-481-5023-6 |location=Dordrecht |pages=401}}</ref> In 1910, he became head of the Faculty of Mathematics at the university.<ref name="Paulina Rowińska">{{Cite web |url=https://wyborcza.pl/AkcjeSpecjalne/7,160474,24501452,zaczynali-od-zera-stali-sie-legenda-jak-warszawscy-matematycy.html |language=pl |title=Zaczynali od zera, stali się legendą. Jak warszawscy matematycy podbili świat |website=wyborcza.pl |author=Paulina Rowińska |date=8 March 2019 |access-date=27 April 2023}}</ref>