Jan Kiliński (1760 in

Trzemeszno Trzemeszno (german: Tremessen) is a town in Gniezno County, west-central Poland belonging to the group of the oldest settlements in the region. The town's name derives from an Old Polish word “Trzemcha” meaning the flower of the "Bird’s C ...

- 28 January 1819 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 officia ...

) was a Polish soldier and one of the commanders of the Kościuszko Uprising. A shoemaker by trade, he commanded the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

of 1794 against the Russian garrison stationed in

. He also became a member of Polish provisional government.

Biography

Jan Kiliński was born in

, a minor town in the

Greater Poland voivodeship Greater Poland Voivodeship ( pl, Województwo wielkopolskie; ), also known as Wielkopolska Voivodeship, Wielkopolska Province, or Greater Poland Province, is a voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. It was created on 1 January 1999 ...

. In 1780 he settled in Warsaw, where he became a shoemaking master in 1788. One of the most prominent burghers of the time, he was elected member of the city council three times in a row between 1791 and 1793. During the

of 1794, Kiliński formed a unit of National Militia and led his forces, along with the forces of the regular army, against the Russian occupation forces. On April 19 of that year, following the Russian withdrawal, he signed the Access of the city of Warsaw to the Kościuszko's Uprising and entered the Provisional Temporary Council, a temporary ruling body of the city. The council was soon disbanded and passed its powers to

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

, and Kiliński focused on strengthening his militias. His forces grew to over 20,000 men at arms and on 28 June 1794 were dispatched to the front to link up with the regular Polish Army. On 2 July the same year Kościuszko promoted Kiliński to the rank of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

. After the failure of the uprising, Kiliński was arrested by the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

authorities and handed over to the Russians, who then imprisoned him in the Peter and Paul Fortress, in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Upon his release in 1796, he lived in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

for a short time. However, he was yet again arrested for conspiracy against the tsarist authorities and forcibly resettled in Russia. Upon his return he settled in Warsaw, where he died on 28 January 1819. Kiliński was buried in a crypt at the

Powązki Cemetery Powązki Cemetery (; pl, Cmentarz Powązkowski), also known as Stare Powązki ( en, Old Powązki), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of t ...

Church. His memoirs were posthumously published in 1830 and 1899 (1st and 2nd volumes, respectively).

Tributes

Kiliński Park, in Lwów, was named after him.

References

1760 births 1819 deaths People from Trzemeszno Burials at Powązki Cemetery Polish military leaders Kościuszko insurgents Polish exiles in the Russian Empire Military personnel of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Prisoners of the Peter and Paul Fortress {{Poland-mil-bio-stub