Waclaw Sierpiski and his colleagues are credited with revolutionizing Polish mathematics during the first half of the 20th century. They took a couple of relatively new fields of mathematics and devoted whole journals to them. Although detractors had opined that such an experiment could not succeed, the mathematical heritage of the Polish community between the world wars has left a legacy of results, problems, and personalities, chief among them being Sierpiski.

Sierpiski was born in Warsaw on March 14, 1882. His father was Constantine Sierpiski, a successful physician, and his mother was Louise Lapinska. Sierpiski received his secondary education at the Fifth Grammar School in Warsaw, where he studied under an influential teacher named Wlodarski. From there, he entered the University of Warsaw and began studying number theory under the guidance of G. Voronoi. In 1903, Sierpiski's work in mathematics was recognized by a gold medal from the university, from which...