Ignacy Domeyko (1802-1889) Ignacy Domeyko, Polish geologist, mineralogist, South American explorer, contributed to the economic development of Chile and the country's education system. Born on 31 July 1802 in Niedźwiadka Wielka (now Belarus), he died on 23 January 1889 in Santiago, Chile. He was the son of the president of a land court, Hipolit Domeyko of the Dangiel coat of arms and Karolina, née Ancuta.

Between 1816 and 1822, he studied at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Vilnius University. It was then that he joined the Philomath Society. During the investigation against the members of this association, he was imprisoned with other detainees in the Basilian Monastery in Vilnius. He avoided exile at that time, but received police supervision.

Domeyko, who belonged to Adam Mickiewicz's circle of friends, became the prototype for the character Żegota from the third part of "Dziady".

After completing his studies, Ignacy Domeyko farmed on the Zapole estate, but abandoned the life of a farmer when he heard about the outbreak of the November Uprising. He joined General Dezyder Chłapowski's corps. After the fall of the uprising, he emigrated first to Dresden, where he met Adam Mickiewicz and Edward Odyniec, and then to France. There, at the École des Mines in Paris, he completed his mining studies. He received an offer to become a lecturer in chemistry and mineralogy at Coquimbo in northern Chile from Professor Armand Dufrenoy, a mineralogist at the École des Mines. He accepted and taught at Coquimbo for six years, at the same time carrying out research almost all over the country and sending his results and mineral collections to his alma mater in Paris.

Conservation work at the Santiago General Cemetery
In 2006, the tombstone of Ignatius Domeyko in Santiago's General Cemetery (Cementerio General de Santiago) underwent conservation work. This tombstone, made in 1902, is crowned by a portrait sculpture of Domeyko, probably by Carlo Corsi. The conservation work was carried out by Dr Janusz Smaza of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. They were financed under the Programme of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage 'Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad' at the request of the 'Polish Community' Association.

The Ignacy Domeyko Museum is currently under construction in a former school in La Serena, Chile, which will house educational, exhibition and cultural facilities in addition to a permanent exhibition. This Polish-Chilean project, involving the Ministries of Culture of both countries and the Polish Embassy in Chile, will result in a permanent museum exhibition. The concept for the scenario was prepared by the curatorial team of the Polish History Museum in collaboration with a Polish clergyman working in Chile and a researcher of the life and achievements of Ignacy Domeyka, Rev. Dr. Marcin Schmidt. The visual setting was designed by Marek and Maciej Mikulski. Funding for the work is provided by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland (in 2016 under a grant from the Programme of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage "Protection of Cultural Heritage Abroad"). The opening of the Ignacy Domeyko Museum in La Serena is planned for 2017.