97-17U

Professor Ivan Puluj (1845--1918) was an outstanding Ukrainian physicist, electroengineer, translator of the Bible, publicist, and an active public personality. Here, his scientific activity in the field of cathode- and X-ray physics is considered. The documentary base perused includes some formerly unknown archival materials. Scientific results obtained by I.Puluj at the University of Vienna and at the German Higher Technical School in Prague demonstrate that he belonged to the elite of researchers of the last quater of the 19th century. Evidence is presented that his extensive contributions to physics and technology are not sufficiently appreciated, even though his name is mentioned in the history-of-science literature. Claims concerning Puluj's priority in the discovery of X-rays are critically analysed.