Famous Poles
This list is far from complete, but it is testiment to the success and ingenuity of the Polish people.
Queen Jadwiga (1373-1399)
(Pronounced Yad-veega) Canonized a Saint on June 8, 1997
by Pope John Paul II. Born in 1373 to King Louis of Hungary.
Louis who was the nephew and, after an intense power struggle, proclaimed heir of King
Casimir of Poland. When Louis died in 1382 he directed that Poland and Hungry should each
select one of his daughters to rule them. Jadwiga was origionally to rule Hungary,
but the Hungarian Nobels wanted her older sister Maria.
At the tender age of 11, Jadwiga became ruler of Poland.
Soon after, a marriage was negotiated with the Lithuanian ruler Jogaila, a man three times her age,
and a pagan. Jadwiga had been betrothed in infancy to a Hapsburg prince with whom
she was deeply in love. The terms of the marriage
were that Jogaila would convert himself, and his nation to Christianity,
and deal with the Teutonic Knights who were constantly invading and pillaging the Poles. Eventuallly,
pressure from the
Nobility and her sense of duty to her new country overcame and she agreed to the marriage. They were married on February 18, 1386.
Her husband
took the dame of Wladyslaw II.
Jadwiga was a generous and determined ruler. She was devoted to the Church, Education and peace.
At one point she gave all her jewelry and regalia to rescue the bankrupt Krakow Academy and legend says
used a gold painted wooden scepter for official functions. She also founded a college for Lithuanians in Prague.
Unfortunately, she was destined for a short reign. In 1399, when she was 24, she gave birth to her first
and only child. A son who died at birth, she died
shortly afterwards. Her husband became the sole ruler of both Poland and Lithuania. He later remarried, but it was said
that he never forgot his generous young queen.
Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849)
Frederic Chopin was born at Zelazowa Wola a small village near Warsaw, Poland. As small child Chopin loved music. He began taking piano lessons at the age of 6. At the age of 8 he performed in a charity concert. Chopin's first published musical work appeared when he was 15. Chopin was recognized as the leading pianist of Warsaw at 17. He was perhaps the greatest of all composers for the piano.
Chopin wrote few concertos and sonatas. Instead he perfected freer musical forms. In his compositions there are 50 mazurkas, 26 preludes 24 etudes, 19 nocturnes, 15 waltzes, 11 polonaises, 4 ballads, and 3 sonatas. He used the rhythms and spirit of Polish folk dances in his polonaises and mazurkas.
Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
He was born Josef Teodor Korzeniowski in a part of Poland that is now Ukraine territory. He studied to be a lawyer but always wanted to be a sailor. He moved to Marseilles, France and went to sea at the age of 17. He sailed as a steward for 4 years and was wounded in skirmish. He went to London, England to recover from his wound and after recovery he became a deckhand on British freighter. For the next 16 years he served in the British Navy, became a British citizen, and a ship's captain. His sea travels took him to the Far East, and his experiences provided him with the material for the novels and stories he would later write. It is amazing that at the age of 20 he could not speak any English yet in his lifetime he wrote outstanding novels and stories in the English language. Some of his writings are: "Heart of Darkness," "Almayer's Folly," "Lord Jim," "Nostromo," "Secret Agent," and "Under the Western Eyes."
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Born Mikolaj Kopernik was the son of a merchant. His father died when Mikolaj was at an early age and was raised by his uncle who was a Catholic bishop. He went to the University of Krakow where he studied mathematics. Copernicus also studied law and later medicine at Padua in Italy. He returned to his sick uncle and was the attending physician. He always had an interest in astronomy and spent much time studying the stars. The Copernicus theory was contrary to the then accepted theory Ptolemaic theory. In 1530 he wrote his great book, " On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres", which set forth his revolutionary theory that the earth revolved around the sun, instead of the sun revolving around the earth. His theory was in opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church, and was not published for 13 years. The book was published in 1543 and he received the first copy just shortly before his death in 1543.
Marie Curie (1867-1934)
Marie Sklodowska (sklaw DAWF skah) was born in Warsaw, Poland on November 7, 1867. She took up her father's interest in mathematics and physics. She continued her education in Paris where, in 1891 she became the first woman to teach at the Sorbonne. It was in Paris that she met Pierre Curie in 1894. They married in 1895, and began a scientific partnership that earned them international fame.
They announced the discovery of the chemical elements polonium and radium. In 1903 they were awarded the Nobel Peace prize for their discovery of radioactivity. In 1906 Pierre was killed in horse-drawn carriage accident. Marie carried on with scientific work and in 1911 she won the Nobel Peace prize for chemistry for isolating pure radium.
Madame Curie believed that she could help save the lives of wounded WWI soldiers by locating bullets in them with the new x-ray technology. She was active in the War effort, inventing x-ray vans and training female technicians. On July 1934, she died of leukemia caused by her exposure to radiation.
Casimir Funk (1884-1967)
Casimir was born and educated in Warsaw, Poland. In 1920 he came to the U.S. and became a citizen. He became a research consultant and is known for his important discoveries in vitamins. In fact, he coined the term "Vitamine" to describe the unidentified substances present in food which could prevent certain diseases like scurvy, beriberi, and pellagra.
Thaddeus Kosciuszko (1746-1817)
Born in Mereczowszyzna, Poland, he was educated at the Piarist college in Lubieszow and the military academy in Warsaw. Kosciuszko joined the Polish army and rose to rank of general and fought for freedom on two continents. In 1776 he came to America to serve in the American Revolution. He was an Engineer and a colonel of artillery in the Continental army and built the first fortifications at West Point. After the American Revolution, Kosciuszko was awarded with the rank of brigadier general and a grant of land from George Washington. He returned to Poland where she was suffering from Russian aggression. He fought valiantly, but unsuccessfully against the Russian invasion. In 1794 Kosciuszko became dictator and commander in chief of Poland and successfully defended Warsaw against siege by Russian and Prussian armies.
Casimir Pulaski (1747-1779)
The Polish soldier and patriot Casimir Pulaski helped the Americans in their fight for independence. In his own country Pulaski had fought unsuccessfully to keep Poland free from Russian domination. Pulaski was born to a noble family on March 4, 1747, in Winiary, Poland. He was a hero in the Polish anti-Russian insurrection of 1768, and he distinguished himself defending his country. In 1772 he was falsely accused of plotting to kill the king and was eventually forced to flee to France.
In Paris in late 1776 he met the American statesman Benjamin Franklin, who persuaded him to aid the Colonies in their fight for freedom. In mid-1777 Pulaski went to America and joined the colonial army under Gen. George Washington. He distinguished himself at the battle of Brandywine and was commissioned a brigadier general. Pulaski served for some time under Washington and then was given permission to raise an independent corps, the Pulaski Legion. As its leader Pulaski successfully defended Charleston, S.C. from an attack by the British in May 1779. In an attack on Savannah, Ga., on October 9, he was mortally wounded. He died at sea two days later.
Pola Negri
Famous silent film star.