Józef Rufin Wybicki (; 29 September 1747 – 10 March 1822) was a Polish nobleman, jurist,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, political and military activist of Kashubian descent. He is best remembered as the author of "" (), which was adopted as the Polish

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

in 1927.

Life

Wybicki was born in Będomin, in the region of

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. His family was Pomeranian

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

. He finished a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

school, and in his youth was a junior court official. In 1767, he worked at the Crown Tribunal in

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

. Wybicki was elected a deputy to the Repnin Sejm, the session of Polish parliament in 1767, on the eve of the

First Partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...

. Subsequently, he joined the insurgency known as the Confederation of Bar (1768–1772), aimed at opposing the Russian influence and king

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, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

. He was one of the advisors (''konsyliarz'') of the Confederacy, acting as a diplomat. After the failure of the uprising, he spent some time in the Netherlands, studying law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

. Returning to Poland, in the 1770s and 1780s he was associated with the

Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education (, KEN, ) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Stanisław II August on October 14, 1773. Because of its ...

. He supported King

and his proposed reforms. He helped draft the liberal Zamoyski Codex of laws of the late 1770s. He was a Patriotic Party activist during the

Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

(1788–92) – though he was not one of its first deputies, during much of that time staying at his estate, writing and staging operas. He did, however, participate in the Great Sejm's deliberations, beginning in 1791. In 1792, in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792, like many of Poniatowski's supporters, he joined the Targowica Confederation. He participated in the Kościuszko Uprising (1794) and was a member of the Military Section of the Provisional Council of the Duchy of Masovia. During the uprising, he co-organized the Polish administration in the liberated city of

. After the failure of this insurrection he moved to France. He was a close friend of both

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

and Jan Henryk Dąbrowski. With Dąbrowski he organized the Polish Legions in Italy, serving under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Bonaparte. In 1797, while in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

, Italy, he wrote ' (Dąbrowski's Mazurek). In 1806 he helped Dąbrowski organize the Greater Poland Uprising. After the creation of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

in 1807, he held a number of positions in its Department of Justice, and continued working for it after the Duchy's transformation into

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

. In 1817 he became president of the Supreme Court of Congress Poland. He died on 10 March 1822 in Manieczki, then part of the Grand Duchy of Posen in the Prussian Partition of Poland.

Works

Wybicki was a writer, journalist and a poet. He wrote political-themed poems, plays and political treaties advocating reforms in Poland in the 1770s and 1780s. His works of that time analyzed the Polish political system, the concepts of liberty, and advocated for more rights for the peasantry. He would also publish more political brochures in the 1800s, advocating for liberal reforms in the Duchy of Warsaw. ' (Dąbrowski's Mazurka) remains Wybicki's most famous creation. It has been regarded as an unofficial

since the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

of 1831. In 1927 the Mazurka was officially adopted as the Polish

by the Polish parliament (

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

References

External links

Biography
at univ.gda.pl
Memoirs of Józef Wybicki
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wybicki, Jozef 1747 births 1822 deaths People from Kościerzyna County 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian lawyers Age of Enlightenment National anthem writers Kościuszko insurgents Senators of Congress Poland Senators of the Duchy of Warsaw Members of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Targowica confederates Bar confederates Polish legionnaires (Napoleonic period) Polish male poets Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Burials at the Church of St. Adalbert, Poznań Polish Enlightenment 19th-century Polish lawyers Polish recipients of the Legion of Honour Leiden University alumni

Life

Works

See also

References

External links