Prominent Poles Born in Kresy
A number of influential figures in Polish history were born in the area of kresy (note: the following list does not include Poles born in the cities of Lwow (Lviv), and Wilno (Vilnius) - see List of Leopolitans, List of Vilnius-related people). The family of current President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, hails from northern Lithuania. The mother of Bogdan Zdrojewski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage is from Borysław, and the father of former First Lady Jolanta Kwaśniewska was born in Volhynia, where his sister was murdered in 1943 by the Ukrainian nationalists.
- Tadeusz Czacki, historian, born in Poryck, now Pavlivka, current Ukraine,
- Joseph Conrad, novelist in English, born in Berdichev, current Ukraine,
- Zbigniew Cybulski, actor, born in Kniaze, current Ukraine,
- Ignacy Domeyko, 19th-century geologist, born in Niedźwiadka Wielka, current Belarus,
- Benedykt Dybowski, naturalist and physician, born near Nowogródek, current Belarus,
- Mirosław Hermaszewski, astronaut, born in Lipniki, current Ukraine,
- Zygmunt Gloger, historian, archeologist, geographer and ethnographer, born in Kamionka Podolska, current Ukraine,
- Artur Grottger, painter, born in Otynevychi, current Ukraine,
- Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, writer and poet, born in Kalnik, current Ukraine,
- Hugo Kołłątaj, social and political activist, political thinker, historian and philosopher, born in Dederkały Wielkie, current Ukraine,
- Ryszard Kapuściński, reporter, born in Pinsk, current Belarus,
- Tadeusz Kościuszko, national hero of Poland, Lithuania, the United States and Belarus, born in the village of Mereczowszczyzna, current Belarus,
- Stanisław Maczek, tank commander in World War II, born in Szczerzec, current Ukraine,
- Ernest Malinowski, railway engineer/ builder, born in Seweryny, current Ukraine,
- Adam Mickiewicz, a national poet of Poland, born in Zavosse (Polish: Zaosie), current Belarus,
- Czesław Miłosz, poet, recipient of the Nobel Prize, born in Seteniai, current Lithuania,
- Stanisław Moniuszko, composer, born in current Belarus,
- Gabriel Narutowicz, first President of the Second Polish Republic, born in Telsiai, current Lithuania,
- Adam Naruszewicz, poet, historian, dramatist, translator, publicist, born in Pinsk, current Belarus,
- Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, poet, playwright and statesman, born near Brest, current Belarus,
- Czesław Niemen, singer, born in Stare Wasiliszki, current Belarus,
- Eliza Orzeszkowa, writer, born in Milkowszczyzna, current Belarus
- Ignacy Jan Paderewski, composer, diplomat, politician, born the village of Kurilovka, current Ukraine,
- Józef Piłsudski, statesman, Chief of State, First Marshal, and leader of the Second Polish Republic, born in Zalavas (Polish: Zułów), current Lithuania,
- Stanisław August Poniatowski, last King of Poland, born in Vowchyn, current Belarus,
- Jan Potocki, writer and adventurer, author of The Manuscript Found in Saragossa, born in Pikov, current Ukraine,
- Edward Rydz-Śmigły, marshal of Poland, born in Lapshin, current Ukraine,
- Juliusz Słowacki, the father of modern Polish drama, born in Kremenets (Polish: Krzemieniec), current Ukraine,
- John III Sobieski, King of Poland, born in Olesko, current Ukraine,
- Karol Szymanowski, composer, born in Tymoszówka, current Ukraine,
- Anna Walentynowicz, Solidarity legend, born in Równe, current Ukraine,
- Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland, born in Vyshnivets (Polish: Wiśniowiec), current Ukraine,
- Wiktor Thommée, Brigadier General of the Polish Army, born in Švenčionys, current Lithuania,
- Franciszek Żwirko, aviator, born in Švenčionys, current Lithuania.
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Famous quotes containing the words prominent, poles and/or born:
“The soldier here, as everywhere in Canada, appeared to be put forward, and by his best foot. They were in the proportion of the soldiers to the laborers in an African ant-hill.... On every prominent ledge you could see England’s hands holding the Canadas, and I judged from the redness of her knuckles that she would soon have to let go.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“War and culture, those are the two poles of Europe, her heaven and hell, her glory and shame, and they cannot be separated from one another. When one comes to an end, the other will end also and one cannot end without the other. The fact that no war has broken out in Europe for fifty years is connected in some mysterious way with the fact that for fifty years no new Picasso has appeared either.”
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“Talk of Columbus and Newton! I tell you the child just born in yonder hovel is the beginning of a revolution as great as theirs. But you must have the believing and prophetic eye.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)