Wojciech Seweryn (August 31, 1939 – April 10, 2010) was a
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 ...
-born sculptor and longtime resident of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
![ZSP-Tarnow-Poland-1600](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/ZSP-Tarnow-Poland-1600.JPG)
Seweryn was born in
Tarnów
Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...
, graduated from the School of Fine Arts in Tarnów, and studied at the
Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts
The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków ( pl, Akademia Sztuk Pięknych im. Jana Matejki w Krakowie, usually abbreviated to ''ASP''), is a public institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Pol ...
. He immigrated to Chicago in the mid-1970s. The son of a 16th Infantry Regiment officer killed in the
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...
, he later designed and constructed a memorial commemorating the Katyn massacre in
Niles,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
; this was inaugurated in 2009. He was among those killed along with President of Poland,
Lech Kaczyński
Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010. Before his tenure as president, he prev ...
, First Lady
Maria Kaczyńska
Maria Helena Kaczyńska (; ; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) was the First Lady of Poland from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of President Lech Kaczyński. She and her husband died in the plane crash in the Russian city of Smolensk.
Early and per ...
, and many other prominent Polish leaders in the
2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash
On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, and his wife, Maria, ...
near
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
.
He was awarded the Officer's Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident ab ...
, by order of President
Lech Kaczynski
Lech may refer to:
People
* Lech (name), a name of Polish origin
* Lech, the legendary founder of Poland
* Lech (Bohemian prince)
Products and organizations
* Lech (beer), Polish beer produced by Kompania Piwowarska, in Poznań
* Lech Poznań ...
on 8 May 2009, "for outstanding achievements in commemorating the fate of the Polish nation, for social and charitable activities.
![Katyn monument niles 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Katyn_monument_niles_2010.jpg)
Six days after the Tu-154 crash in Smolensk on April 16, 2010, Seweryn was
posthumously
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
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awarded the Commander's Cross of the
Order of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...
.
A stretch of
Milwaukee Avenue in
Niles, Illinois
Niles is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located in the townships of Maine and Niles, directly neighboring the City of Chicago's far northwest border. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,912. The current mayor of Niles ...
was renamed in his honor in 2011.
[ ]
References
*
*
1939 births
2010 deaths
Polish sculptors
Polish male sculptors
Polish emigrants to the United States
People from Tarnów
Artists from Illinois
Commanders of the Order of Polonia Restituta
Officers of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Victims of the Smolensk air disaster
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