Wojciech Grzymała (23 April 1793 - 16 December 1871), also known as Albert Grzymala or Albert Grzymała, was a

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

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

who was a close associate in Paris of

composer

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

. Grzymała was born in Dunajowce (now Dunaivtsi,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). He began attending military school in 1807, and took part in the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

(1812), for which he received the medal

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

. A

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and active in Polish politics during the 1820s, he was a principal orator at the funeral of

Stanisław Staszic Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Sla ...

(1826). In 1828-1829, he was imprisoned in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint 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 ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

for his association with the Polish ''Towarzystwo Patriotyczne'' (Patriotic Society). As a director of the

Bank Polski The Bank Polski (), sometimes referred to as the "First Bank of Poland" to distinguish it from its 20th-century namesake, was a public bank in Congress Poland. It was created in 1828, initially with a broad scope of activities that soon started s ...

, he negotiated in London and Paris for financial and other support for Poland after the 1830

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. ...

. Grzymała remained in Paris and became a society figure. He often acted as Chopin's adviser and "gradually began to fill the role of elder brother in islife." He was a frequent correspondent of both Chopin and of

George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balz ...

; Sand, in a letter to Grzymała of June 1838, admitted her strong feelings for the composer and debated whether to abandon a current affair in order to begin a relationship with Chopin. Grzymała died, a

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...

, in

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, in 1871.Sikorski (n.d.)

References

;Notes ;Sources * Chopin, Fryderyk (1962). ''Selected Correspondence of Fryderyk Chopin'', coll. B. Sydow, tr. Arthur Hedley. London: Heinemann. * Sikorski, Andrzej, (n.d.
"Wojciech Grzymała"
(in

), website of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, accessed 1 March 2014. * Zamoyski, Adam (2010). ''Chopin: Prince of the Romantics''. London: HarperCollins, 2010, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Grzymala, Wojciech 1793 births 1871 deaths 19th-century Polish politicians Polish soldiers Polish bankers Frédéric Chopin Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Immigrants to France Activists of the Great Emigration People from Dunaivtsi 19th-century businesspeople from the Russian Empire