The article presents the figure of Józef Siemiradzki, a famous geologist, geographer, and traveler, who was also an active organizer of emigration from the Polish lands to the South America at the turn of the 19th century. In 1887 at the Lvov University he joined the group of economists and lawyers who regarded emigration to that distant continent as the great opportunity for farm hands and laborers.Siemiradzki became an ardent follower of the idea of mass peasant emigration to Brazil and Argentina. He published numerous articles and polemics devoted to the subject in question. He was also a leader of organizations and institutions responsible for prospective emigrants.