Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts and a candidate for the Polish crown. He was educated in England and after his return to Poland in 1758, he became a member of the

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

(parliament), Crown General of

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

and Marshal of

General Confederation of Kingdom of Poland The General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland (28 June 1812 – 30 April 1813, Polish ''Konfederacja Generalna Królestwa Polskiego'') was a Polish confederation established by emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on the eve of his campaign in Russ ...

Biography

Early life

He was the son of Prince August Aleksander Czartoryski,

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

of the

Ruthenian Voivodeship The Ruthenian Voivodeship (Latin: ''Palatinatus russiae'', Polish: ''Województwo ruskie'', Ukrainian: ''Руське воєводство'', romanized: ''Ruske voievodstvo''), also called Rus’ voivodeship, was a voivodeship of the Crown ...

, and Maria Zofia Sieniawska. He married Izabela Fleming on 18 November 1761, in Wołczyn,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Political career

A member of the '' Familia'', in 1763 he declined to be a candidate for the Polish crown, preferring instead to be a patron of the arts, and withdrawing in favor of

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

. With his wife, Izabela Czartoryska, he created at the Czartoryski Palace in

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47 ...

a major center of Polish intellectual and political life. He served from 1758 as general

starost The starosta or starost ( Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', german: link=no, Starost, Hauptmann) is a term of Slavic origin denoting a community elder whose role was to administer the assets of a clan or family estates. T ...

. Founder of the "''Little Monitor''", in 1765 he co-founded the '' Monitor'', the leading periodical of the Polish Enlightenment. In 1766 he reorganized the army of the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

. In 1767 he joined the Radom Confederation. In 1768 he became the commander of the School of Chivalry (

Corps of Cadets A corps of cadets, also called cadet corps, was originally a kind of military school for boys. Initially such schools admitted only sons of the nobility or gentry, but in time many of the schools were opened also to members of other social classes. ...

). In 1788-1792 he was Deputy from

Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...

to the "

Four-Year Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm ( Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was held in Wars ...

." Drawing closer the king once again, he became a leader of the

Patriotic Party , colorcode = #E4433E , leader1_title = Leaders , leader1_name = Ignacy Potocki Adam Kazimierz CzartoryskiStanisław Małachowski , foundation = , dissolution = , headquarters = Kraków , ideology = Pro-ReformConstitutio ...

and co-founder of Poland's

Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education ( pl, Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, KEN; lt, Edukacinė komisija) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław II August on October 1 ...

. He supported the Polish Constitution of 3 May 1791, and headed a

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, attempting to convince

Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony pl, Fryderyk August Józef Maria Antoni Jan Nepomucen Alojzy Ksawery , image = Frederick Augustus I of Saxony by Marcello Bacciarelli (ca 1808-1809).png , caption = Portrait by Marcello Bacciarelli (1809) , succession = King of Saxony , cor ...

to support the Commonwealth and accept its throne (after Poniatowski's future death). He refused to join the

Targowica Confederation The Targowica Confederation ( pl, konfederacja targowicka, , lt, Targovicos konfederacija) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catheri ...

established to bring the Constitution down. He received the Order of the White Eagle on 25 November 1764. He was Marshal of the Convocation Sejm of 7 May - 23 June 1764, and of the Extraordinary Sejm of 26–28 June 1812, held in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. Thus he became Marshal of

Remembrance

He is one of the figures immortalized in

Jan Matejko Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale oil ...

's 1891 painting, ''

Constitution of May 3, 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791,; lt, Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija titled the Governance Act, was a constitution adopted by the Great Sejm ("Four-Year Sejm", meeting in 1788–1792) for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dual mo ...

.''

Awards

* Order of the White Eagle (25 November 1764) * Order of Saint Stanisław *

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

(1762) * Order of St. Anna * Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriag ...

(Austria) (1808)

Works

Czartoryski was an author of numerous comedies and plays. He has also written a critical essay on contemporary

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

, ''Myśli o pismach polskich'' houghts on Polish Writings(1810). * ''Panna na wydaniu'' (1771). * ''Katechizm kadecki'' (The Cadet's Catechism, 1774). * ''Kawa'' (Coffee, 1779). * ''Myśli o pismach polskich'' houghts on Polish Writings(1810).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Czartoryski, Adam Kazimierz 1734 births 1823 deaths Writers from Gdańsk Field marshals of Austria Candidates for the Polish elective throne Generals of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Polish male writers 18th-century philanthropists Polish philanthropists Marshals of the Sejm of a Partitioned Poland Members of the Sejm of Duchy of Warsaw Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Politicians from Gdańsk 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian landowners 19th-century Polish landowners Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)