Franciszek Rychnowski (1850 - 1929) was a Polish engineer and an inventor, who also lectured at the
Lwów Politechnic. In addition to mundane projects (he was involved with
electrification,
central heating and the
tram system in
Lwów, which is now Lviv, Ukraine), he also gained fame for his
pseudoscientific theories on
eteroid, similar to the concepts of
élan vital or
orgone; involvement with such pseudoscientific theories eventually ruined his career.