Michał Józef Römer (also spelled Romer or Roemer; 2 September 1778 – 14 January 1853) was a politician, writer,

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and notable member of the Polish–Lithuanian gentry. Son of Stefan Dominik Römer and Anna Pac.

Biography

Römer was born in the Lithuanian city of

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

, where he spent most of his life. He owned manors in Kriaunos, Antanašė, Bagdoniškis, Daugirdiškiai, Granapolis, and Dembinė. During the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

, he served as the mayor of Vilna from July to September 1812. Between 1817 and 1820 he served as a Marshal of the Szlachta for the

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate (1795–1915; also known as Lithuania-Vilnius Governorate from 1801 until 1840; russian: Виленская губерния, ''Vilenskaya guberniya'', lt, Vilniaus gubernija, pl, gubernia wileńska) or Government of V ...

. He also served as a head of the regional branch of the

National Patriotic Society National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and the ''Towarzystwo Szubrawców'' literary society (along with Michał Baliński,

Leon Borowski Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

, Ignacy Chodźko,

Antoni Gorecki Antoni Gorecki (1787 – 18 September 1861) was a Polish poet and writer, author of satires and short stories for children. He was born in 1787 in Vilnius, where he finished primary school. In 1802 he started studying at the Faculty of Lit ...

, Kazimierz Kontrym,

Józef Sękowski Osip Ivanovich Senkovsky (russian: О́сип Ива́нович Сенко́вский), born Józef Julian Sękowski ( in Antagonka, near Vilnius – in Saint Petersburg), was a Polish-Russian orientalist, journalist, and entertainer. Life S ...

Jędrzej Śniadecki Jędrzej Śniadecki (archaic ''Andrew Sniadecki''; ; 30 November 1768 – 11 May 1838) was a Polish writer, physician, chemist, biologist and philosopher. His achievements include being the first person who linked rickets to lack of sunlight. He ...

and

Tomasz Zan Tomasz Zan (21 December 1796 Miasata, Vileysky Uyezd, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire (now Belarus) – 19 July 1855 Kakoŭčyna, Orsha, Russian Empire), was a Polish and Belarusian poet and activist. Biography He was born on 21 December 179 ...

). He was master of

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

Diligent Lithuanian (''Uolusis lietuvis'') and chairman of the Great Lodge Perfect Unity (''Tobuloji vienybė''). He was an early advocate for the abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

and raised the question in public. For this and his other activities, in 1826 he was imprisoned in Warsaw and the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...

in Saint Petersburg. Later he was exiled to

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the ...

. After his return in 1832, he retired from public life. His son Edward Jan Römer was also a noted social activist and writer.

Family

In 1799, he married Rachela de Reas (1783–1855), daughter of Franciszek de Raes, podczasy of Trakai, and Judyta Jeleńska. They had six children: * Judyta (1800–1803) * Henryk (1803–1828) * Filareta Anna (1805–1890), wife of Ksawery Podbereski * Edward Jan (1806–1878) * Seweryn Justus (1814–1890) * Michał Stefan (1816–1846), marshal of the Trakai county

References

1778 births 1853 deaths Writers from Vilnius Polish male writers Polish politicians Polish Freemasons Politicians from Vilnius Vilnius University alumni Römer family {{Poland-politician-stub