The unpublished work of H. P. Zhytetskyi as a source of research of the scientist’s biography

Presentation of biographies of historical figures is not possible without a thorough study of existing sources, both known and poorly researched. For scholars, autobiographical works are a valuable complement to the study of a particular historical figure and the presentation of a comprehensive biography. This article is devoted to the autobiographical work of Hnat Zhytetskyi (1866–1929) “Memories and Reflections on the 70s and 80s of the Last Century” from the funds of the Institute of Manuscript of the VNLU (f. І, c. 46880). The author is a well-known figure of Ukrainian science of the second half of the nineteenth century - the first half of the twentieth century, scientist, historian, bibliologist, literary critic, graduate of the Faculty of History and Philology of TarasShevchenko National University of Kiev, head of the Department of Manuscripts, and now is the Institute of Manuscripts of VNLU.In the given work three informational-biographical segments are presented, namely genealogy of the Zhytetskyi family, Kiev topography through the lens of the scientist's memories and the role of the intellectual environment in his life. H. Zhitetsky examined the genealogical roots of his descendants, dating back to the eighteenth century. He elaborated on the biographies of his parents, Pavlo andBarbara Zhytetsky, emphasizing the spiritual origin of his father and the noble origin of his mother. The source describes the location of Kiev Zhytetskyi's apartments and transmits the author's personal impressions. Here we find reliable information about the Old Community gatherings in the Zhytetskyi apartment and interesting personal stories of H. Zhytetskyi about the members of the Old Community, including M. V. Kovalevsky, M. O. Konstantinovich and their families. The scientist also mentions the writer O. I. Lonachevsky-Petruniak and the publicfigure E. K. Tregubov. In this work, certain important aspects of the life of H. Zhytetskyi are revealed, which fill the existing gaps in the widely known biography of the scientist. In addition, using this source you can accurately identify personal biographical data of members of the Zhytetskyi family, as well as find little-known facts andepisodes from the biography of Hnat Zhytetskyi. Thus, H. Zhytetskyi's unpublished work has a rich information potential as a biographical source. It contains interesting biographical episodes from the life of H. Zhytetskyi, whose presentation makes it possible to delve deeper into both the inner world of the scientist and to fill in the gaps of unknown pages of the scientist's life.