He was born in 1846 in Broniszów. He was a graduate of Kazimierz Brodziński High School in Tarnów (I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Kazimierza Brodzińskiego). He studied at Kraków's Jagiellonian University in the departments of mathematics and physics, and chemistry and biology. He carried out his first experiments using a personally improved compressor, compressing and condensing carbon dioxide.
In 1883, Zygmunt Wróblewski and Karol Olszewski were the first in the world to liquefyoxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a stable state (not, as had been the case up to then, in a dynamic state in the transitional form as vapor).[2]
In 1884, in his Kraków laboratory, Olszewski was the first to liquefy hydrogen in a dynamic state, achieving a record low temperature of −225 °C (48 K). In 1895 he liquefied argon. He then failed only to liquefy the newly discovered helium element.[3]
In January 1896, on hearing of Wilhelm Röntgen's work with X-rays, within a few days Olszewski replicated it. Later on, in early February he provided an X-ray image of a luxated elbow thus initiating the university's department of radiology.[4][5]
Inscription in Polish and Latin: "In this building Karol Olszewski [and] Zygmunt Wróblewski professors at Jagiellonian University in 1883 for the first time in the world liquifed components of air thereby opening to science and industry new fields of research and application"
