Jan Szczepanik (1872-1926) - often referred to as the "Polish Edison" - was one of the most prolific inventors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His body of work includes hundreds of patents in fields such as color photography, film, telecommunications, textiles and personal security. Jan Szczepanik's most important achievements 1. color photography and film Szczepanik is considered one of the pioneers of color image technology. He developed a system of color photography using the grid method, similar to the Lumière brothers' later autochrome technique. He obtained patents for a camera and projector for recording and reproducing color images. 2. telescope - the idea of "television." In 1897, he proposed a device called the telectroscope - a system for transmitting images and sound over a distance using electrical wires. Although technically unfeasible in his time, the concept was a harbinger of future television. 3. bulletproof vest He constructed one of the world's first bulletproof vests, based on silk fibers. One of his vests saved the life of Spanish King Alfonso XIII - a fact that made the designer famous in the European and American press. 4 Improvements in the textile industry His broadest and most profitable field was automatic weaving looms. He developed systems: automation of patterned weaving, recording patterns on photographic film, controlling looms with perforated tapes. These solutions laid the foundation for later photographically controlled weaving machines. 5. photometry, measurement, telecommunications Developed numerous measuring instruments and transmission devices, including improvements in telegraphy and image coding systems. Importance of Jan Szczepanik: Was one of the most versatile inventors of the early 20th century, won about 100 patents in Europe and the US, is sometimes put in a row with Edison or Tesla in terms of ingenuity, has become a symbol of Polish technological creativity.