Documents for "Polish History: Biographies":

• Śmigły-Rydz, Edward see Rydz-Śmigły, Edward.

• Augustus II 1670-1733, king of Poland (1697-1733) and, as Frederick Augustus I, elector of Saxony (1694-1733). He commanded the imperial army against the Turks (1695-96), but had no success and was replaced by...

• Augustus III 1696-1763, king of Poland (1735-63) and, as Frederick Augustus II, elector of Saxony (1733-63); son of Augustus II , whom he succeeded in Saxony. Elected king of Poland by a minority, he allied himself with Empress Anna of Russia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in the War of the Polish Succession (1733-35) and secured the throne from Stanislaus I. In the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), Augustus at first offered to support Maria Theresa in return for a corridor between Poland and Saxony. He was refused and entered the coalition against her, claiming rights as a...

• Boleslaus I c.966-1025, Polish ruler (992-1025), the first to call himself king; also called Boleslaus the Brave. He succeeded his father, Mieszko I , as duke of Poland, seized the territories left to his two brothers under their father's will, and set about increasing his holdings. With the sanction of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, he obtained...

• Boleslaus II c.1039-1081, duke (1058-76), and later king (1076-79) of Poland; son and successor of Casimir I. Throughout his reign he opposed the influence of the Holy Roman Empire. He asserted Polish power in Bohemia, Hungary, and S Russia by interfering in their civil wars. As a reward for submitting...

• Boleslaus III 1085-1138, duke of Poland (1102-38). The kingdom had been divided by his father, Ladislaus Herman, between Boleslaus and his elder brother Zbigniew, whose legitimacy was disputed. Zbigniew was...

• Casimir I c.1015-1058, duke of Poland (c.1040-1058), son of Mieszko II. He succeeded in reuniting the central Polish lands under the hegemony of the Holy Roman Empire, but he was never crowned king. He is also called Casimir the Restorer. His son and successor was...

• Casimir II 1138-94, duke of Poland (1177-94), youngest son of Boleslaus III. A member of the Piast dynasty, he drove his brother Mieszko III from power at Kraków in 1177 and became the principal duke of Poland. At the Congress of Leczyca (1180) the nobility and clergy, in return for privileges...

• Casimir III 1310-70, king of Poland (1333-70), son of Ladislaus I and last of the Piast dynasty. Called Casimir the Great, he brought comparative peace to Poland. By the Congress of Visegrad (1335) he promised to recognize the suzerainty over Silesia of John of Luxemburg, king of...

• Casimir IV 1427-92, king of Poland (1447-92). He became (1440) ruler of Lithuania and in 1447 succeeded his brother Ladislaus III as king of Poland. He united the two nations more closely by placing them on an equal footing. With the Second Peace of Torun (1466) he ended a 13-year war against the Teutonic Knights in his favor; Poland gained territories and the Knights accepted Polish suzerainty over the area they retained. Calling (1467) the first Polish diet, he confirmed the privileges of the aristocracy...

• Cyrankiewicz, Józef 1911-89, Polish political leader. Active in the Polish resistance after the German invasion in 1939, he was arrested in 1941 and spent the remainder of the war in concentration camps. He was a...

• Czartoryski Polish princely family. Although of ancient lineage, it rose to prominence only in the 17th cent., and in the 18th cent. during the reign of the Saxon kings of Poland it virtually ruled the...

• Dąbrowski, Jan Henryk 1755-1818, Polish general. He distinguished himself in the insurrection led by Kosciusko in 1794. After its failure he went to France and organized (1797) a Polish legion, which he commanded in...

• Dombrowski, Jan Henryk see Dąbrowski.

• Gierek, Edward 1913-2001, Polish politician, b. Porąbka. His family emigrated to France, where he was raised. He joined the French Communist party in 1931 and was later deported to Poland for organizing a...

• Gomułka, Władysław 1905-82, Polish Communist leader. Long a Communist, he helped establish the Polish Workers' party and was (1943-49) secretary of its central committee. After World War II, he served (1945-49) as...

• Jadwiga 1374-99, Polish queen (1384-99), daughter of Louis I of Hungary and Poland. To satisfy Polish demands for autonomy at Louis's death, she reigned in Poland and her sister reigned in Hungary. Jadwiga married (1386) Jagiello, grand duke of Lithuania (see Ladislaus II ), in order to unite Poland and Lithuania and to convert the Lithuanians to Christianity. They ruled jointly, and after she died without children he ruled alone. Jadwiga restored (1387) to Poland...

• Jagello see Jagiello.

• Jagiello or Jagello , dynasty that ruled Poland and Lithuania from 1386 to 1572, Hungary from 1440 to 1444 and again from 1490 to 1526, and Bohemia from 1471 to 1526. It took its name from Ladislaus Jagiello, grand duke of Lithuania, who became (1386) king of...

• Jaroszewicz, Piotr 1909-92, Polish political leader. A schoolmaster, he lived during World War II in the Soviet Union, where he joined the Polish army in 1943. In the postwar years he held several important...

• Jaruzelski, Wojciech 1923-, Polish military and political leader. He fought in World War II, became a general in 1956, and began his rise in the Communist party in 1960. During the 1981 crisis involving the trade union Solidarity , Jaruzelski became premier and party leader. Known as a moderate, he sought a compromise but finally ordered a military crackdown, placed Poland under martial law (Dec., 1981), outlawed Solidarity,...

• John II (John Casimir), 1609-72, king of Poland (1648-68), son of Sigismund III. He was elected to succeed his brother, Ladislaus IV. The turbulent period of his reign is known in Polish history as the Deluge. The uprising of the Cossacks under Chmielnicki , supported by the khan of Crimea, had begun under his predecessor. John II defeated (1651) the allied Cossack, Tatar, and Ottoman forces, but in 1654 the Cossacks accepted Russian suzerainty over...

• John III (John Sobieski) , 1624-96, king of Poland (1674-96), champion of Christian Europe against the Ottomans. Born to an ancient noble family, he was appointed (1668) commander of the Polish army. He defeated (1673) the...

• Kaczyński, Lech 1949-, Polish politician, grad. Warsaw Univ., Gdańsk Univ. (Ph.D., 1976). He and his identical twin, Jarosław, first gained public attention as child movie actors. Both were active in the...

• Kania, Stanisław 1927-, Polish political leader. He joined the Communist party in 1945, becoming a member of the Central Committee in 1968 and of the Politburo in 1975. Soon after the Solidarity union was formed in...

• Kosciusko, Thaddeus Pol. Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Košciuszko, 1746-1817, Polish general. Trained in military academies in Warsaw and Paris, he offered his services to the colonists in the American Revolution because of his commitment to the ideal of liberty...

• Kwaśniewski, Aleksander 1954-, Polish politician, president of Poland (1995-), b. Bialogard. He studied economics at the Univ. of Gdańsk, joined the Communist party at 23, and was an organizer of the Socialist Union of...

• Ladislaus Herman 1040-1102, duke of Poland (1079-1102), brother and successor of Boleslaus II. His rule was one of weakness and decline. At his death the kingdom passed to his two sons, Zbigniew and Boleslaus III...

• Ladislaus I 1260-1333, duke (1306-20) and later king (1320-33) of Poland; called Ladislaus the Short. He restored the Polish kingdom, which had been partitioned since 1138 (see Piast ). In his conflict with Brandenburg...

• Ladislaus II or Ladislaus Jagiello , 1350?-1434, king of Poland (1386-1434), grand duke of Lithuania (1378-1401), founder of the Jagiello dynasty. Leaguing with Poland against the menacing Teutonic Knights , he acceded to the Polish throne by marrying Queen Jadwiga. Baptized at this time, he agreed to convert Lithuania to Christianity. The union of Poland and Lithuania continued after he delegated (1401) a cousin as grand duke. Jagiello's victory over the...

• Ladislaus III 1424-44, king of Poland (1434-44) and, as Uladislaus I, king of Hungary (1440-44), son of Ladislaus II. He led two crusades against the Ottomans; the first (1443) was highly successful, but the...

• Ladislaus IV 1595-1648, king of Poland (1632-48), son and successor of Sigismund III. His reign was marked by struggles with his subjects and wars with the Swedes, the Russians, and the Ottomans. Ladislaus in his...

• Mieszko I or Mieczyslaw I , c.922-992, duke of Poland (962-92), the first important member of the Piast dynasty. The first German invasions of Poland began in 963. To avert this threat, Mieszko obtained (c.963) a friendly treaty with Holy Roman Emperor Otto I , to whom he agreed to pay tribute. Mieszko later conquered Pomerania. In 966 he accepted Christianity and immediately began the conversion of Poland. Late in his reign he placed Poland under the...

• Mieszko II or Mieczyslaw II, 990-1034, king of Poland (1025-34), son and successor of Boleslaus I. His reign was marked by internal and external strife. Moravia was lost to Bohemia, Lusatia to Germany, and sections of Ruthenia...

• Mikołajczyk, Stanislaus 1901-66, Polish politician and leader of the Polish Peasant party. After the German conquest of Poland, he became vice premier (1941) and premier (1943) in the Polish government in exile at...

• Piłsudski, Joseph Pol. Józef Piłsudski , 1867-1935, Polish general and politician. He was exiled (1887-92) to Siberia for an alleged attempt on the life of Czar Alexander III, who ruled a large section of Poland. On his return he joined...

• Piast 1st dynasty of Polish dukes and kings. Its name was derived from that of its legendary ancestor, a simple peasant. The first historic member, Duke Mieszko I (reigned 962-92), began the unification of Poland and introduced Christianity. His son, Boleslaus I , was crowned king in 1025 with papal approval. However, some of his successors did not claim the royal crown. His successors were Mieszko II (reigned 1025-34), Casimir I (reigned c.1040-1058), Boleslaus II (reigned 1058-79), Ladislaus Herman (reigned 1079-1102), and Boleslaus III (reigned 1102-38). For his four sons Boleslaus III created four hereditary duchies— Silesia , Mazovia , Great Poland (with Gniezno and Poznan), and Sandomierz. In addition, the royal throne at Kraków and the rest of the Polish territory was to be held by the oldest member of the dynasty; thus the supreme power would pass in rotation to the different...

• Poniatowski, Józef Anton, Prince 1763-1813, Polish general and marshal of France; nephew of Stanislaus II. He fought (1792) the Russians in the campaign preceding the second Polish partition and in the insurrection led (1794) by...

• Poniatowski, Stanislaus Augustus see Stanislaus II.

• Rydz-Śmigły, Edward 1886-1941, Polish politician. He served under Piłsudski in the Polish Legions (1914-17), in the war with Soviet Russia (1920), and in the coup of 1926. At Piłsudski's death and in accordance with his wish, Rydz-Śmigły succeeded him (1935) as inspector...

• Sigismund Augustus see Sigismund II.

• Sigismund I 1467-1548, king of Poland (1506-48), son of Casimir IV. Elected to succeed his brother, Alexander I, Sigismund faced the problem of consolidating his domestic power in order successfully to counter external threats to Poland. The enactment (1505)...

• Sigismund II or Sigismund Augustus, 1520-72, king of Poland (1548-72). Crowned in 1530 to assure his succession, he assumed the royal functions at the death of his father, Sigismund I. By the Union of Lublin (1569) he transferred his hereditary grand duchy of Lithuania to the Polish crown, creating the unified Polish-Lithuanian state. His great diplomatic skill enabled him to conciliate the dissident elements both in Poland and among the Lithuanian magnates who...

• Sigismund III 1566-1632, king of Poland (1587-1632) and Sweden (1592-99). The son of John III of Sweden and Catherine, sister of Sigismund II of Poland, he united the Vasa and Jagiello dynasties. He was a Roman Catholic; his marriage (1592) with Anne of Hapsburg linked him with the Catholic monarchs of Europe. A period of factional strife after the death (1586) of King Stephen Báthory was ended by the election of Sigismund as king of Poland, effected through the support of Jan Zamojski , who opposed the candidacy of Maximilian of Austria. In 1592, Sigismund inherited the Swedish throne from his father, but his reluctance to accept Protestantism as the state religion in Sweden...

• Sikorski, Władysław 1881-1943, Polish general and politician. He fought in World War I and later (1922-25) held various cabinet posts. Premier Piłsudski dismissed him from public service in 1928, but after the German...

• Sobieski, John see John III , king of Poland.

• Stanislaus I 1677-1766, king of Poland (1704-1709, 1733-35) and duke of Lorraine (1735-66). He was born Stanislaus Leszczynski. Early in the Northern War (1700-1721), Charles XII of Sweden overran Poland and expelled King Augustus II. In 1704, Charles secured the election of Leszczynski, a Polish nobleman. The majority of Poles remained loyal to Augustus, and Stanislaus, entirely dependent on Swedish arms, went into exile when...

• Stanislaus II 1732-98, last king of Poland (1764-95). He was born Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski. His mother was a member of the powerful Czartoryski family, which furthered Stanislaus's career. He was (1756-58) Polish ambassador to St. Petersburg, where he became a lover of Czarina Catherine II. Catherine, with Frederick II of Prussia, secured Stanislaus's election to the Polish throne after the death of Augustus III. Russian influence thus became paramount in Poland; the Russian ambassador at Warsaw virtually ruled...

• Stephen Báthory Pol. Stefan Batory, 1533-86, king of Poland (1575-86), prince of Transylvania (1571-75), son of Stephen Báthory (1477-1534). He was elected to succeed John II as prince of Transylvania. In Poland, he was elected by a majority to succeed Henry of Valois, who had left Poland in 1574 to rule France as Henry III. A minority voted for Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II , who died before he could make good his claim. As had been stipulated by the Polish diet, Stephen married Anna, daughter of Sigismund II , the last Jagiello king of Poland. To his brother, Christopher Báthory, he gave Transylvania. With his chancellor, Jan Zamojski , Stephen fought several successful campaigns against Ivan IV of Russia in the lengthy war for the succession to Livonia. Peace was made in 1582 through papal mediation, and Poland retained Polotsk and its part of Livonia. Toward the end of his reign Stephen Báthory planned a Christian alliance against the Ottomans...

• Uladislaus I king of Hungary: see Ladislaus III , king of Poland.

• Wałęsa, Lech 1943-, Polish labor and political leader. He worked as an electrician at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk but was dismissed in 1976 for his antigovernment protests. In 1980 striking workers at the...

• Witos, Wincenty 1874-1945, Polish politician. The leader of the Polish Peasant party, he was premier three times (1920-21, 1923, 1926). Witos's government was overthrown by Piłsudski in the coup of 1926. Imprisoned...

• Wyszynski, Stefan 1901-81, Polish prelate, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Ordained in 1924, he received (1929) a doctorate in sociology and canon law from the Catholic Univ. of Lublin. He was active in the...

• Zamojski, Jan 1542-1605, Polish statesman, general, and author. He championed the rights of the lesser nobility; after the extinction (1572) of the Jagiello dynasty, he used his influence to restrict the royal...