Józef Wybicki | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coat of arms | |
| Known for | Author of the Polish national anthem "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" |
| Born | (1747-09-29)29 September 1747 Będomin,Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Poland) |
| Died | 10 March 1822(1822-03-10) (aged 74) Manieczki,Prussia (now Poland) |
| Buried | Church of St. Adalbert, Poznań |
| Noble family | Wybickiherbu (coat of arms) Rogala |
| Spouses | 1. Kunegunda Wybicka, née Drwęska (1773–1775) 2. Estera Wybicka, née Wierusz-Kowalska (1780) |
| Father | Piotr Wybicki |
| Mother | Konstancja Wybicka, née z Lniskich |
Józef Rufin Wybicki (Polish pronunciation:[ˈjuzɛvvɨˈbit͡skʲi]; 29 September 1747 – 10 March 1822) was a Polishnobleman, jurist,poet, political and military activist ofKashubian descent.[1] He is best remembered as the author of "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" (English:"Dąbrowski'sMazurka"), which was adopted as the Polishnational anthem in 1927.
Wybicki was born inBędomin,[2] in the region ofPomerania in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[3] His family was Pomeraniannobility.[4]
In 1755–1765 he attended aJesuit school inStare Szkoty. In 1762–1765, he studied law at a court inSkarszewy.[5]
In 1767, he worked at theCrown Tribunal inBydgoszcz.[6] Wybicki was elected a deputy to theRepnin Sejm, the session of Polish parliament in 1767, on the eve of theFirst Partition of Poland.[3] Subsequently, he joined the insurgency known as theConfederation of Bar (1768–1772), aimed at opposing the Russian influence and kingStanisław August Poniatowski.[3][4] He was one of the advisors (konsyliarz) of the Confederacy, acting as a diplomat.[7] After the failure of the uprising, he spent some time in the Netherlands, studying law atLeiden University.[4]
Returning to Poland, in the 1770s and 1780s he was associated with theCommission of National Education.[3] He supported KingStanisław August Poniatowski and his proposed reforms.[3][4] He helped draft the liberalZamoyski Codex of laws of the late 1770s.[8] He was aPatriotic Party activist during theGreat Sejm (1788–92) – though he was not one of its first deputies, during much of that time staying at his estate, writing and staging operas.[3][4] He did, however, participate in the Great Sejm's deliberations, beginning in 1791.[8] In 1792, in the aftermath of thePolish–Russian War of 1792, like many of Poniatowski's supporters, he joined theTargowica Confederation.[9]
He participated in theKościuszko Uprising (1794)[3] and was a member of the Military Section of theProvisional Council of the Duchy of Masovia.[10] During the uprising, he co-organized the Polish administration in the liberated city ofBydgoszcz.[6] After the failure of this insurrection he moved to France.[4]
He was a close friend of bothTadeusz Kościuszko andJan Henryk Dąbrowski.[11] With Dąbrowski he organized thePolish Legions in Italy, serving underNapoleon Bonaparte.[3] In 1797, while inReggio Emilia, Italy, he wroteMazurek Dąbrowskiego (Dąbrowski'sMazurek).[3] In 1806 he helped Dąbrowski organize theGreater Poland Uprising.[4]
After the creation of theDuchy of Warsaw in 1807, he held a number of positions in its Department of Justice, and continued working for it after the Duchy's transformation intoCongress Poland.[4] In 1817 he became president of the Supreme Court of Congress Poland.[12]
He died on 10 March 1822 inManieczki, then part of theGrand Duchy of Posen in thePrussian Partition of Poland.[3]
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Wybicki was a writer, journalist and a poet.[3] He wrote political-themed poems, plays and political treaties advocating reforms in Poland in the 1770s and 1780s.[3][4] His works of that time analyzed the Polish political system, the concepts of liberty, and advocated for more rights for the peasantry.[13] He would also publish more political brochures in the 1800s, advocating for liberal reforms in the Duchy of Warsaw.[4]
Mazurek Dąbrowskiego (Dąbrowski'sMazurka) remains Wybicki's most famous creation.[4] It has been regarded as an unofficialnational anthem since theNovember Uprising of 1831.[3] In 1927 the Mazurka was officially adopted as thePolishnational anthem by the Polish parliament (Sejm).[4][14]
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