10 Famous Poles
Famous Polish People
This one is bound to cause some debate because here are so many famous poles to choose from. These are the 10 that we have decided should make the list but we are sure that many will disagree!
John Paul II (1920-2005)
Probably the most famous Pole ever, Pope John Paul II was born Karol Jozef Wojtyla in the small town of Wadowice in Poland. By being elected pope by the Catholic Church in 1978, he became the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. This pope modernised the papacy and spread his reach internationally through massive gatherings of Catholics and frequent consultations with heads of state.
Lech Walesa
This feisty, moustachioed electrician from Gdansk shaped the end of the 20th century as the leader of the Solidarity movement that led Poland out of communism. Walesa's contribution to the end of communism in Europe, and hence the end of the cold war, stands beside those of his fellow Pole, Pope John Paul II, and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Ryszard Kuklinski (1930-2004)
He is considered to be one of the United States' top Cold War spies. As a Polish army officer during the communist era, he passed about 35,000 pages of secret Soviet military documents to the CIA at a time when relations between the USA and the Soviet Union were especially tense. The voluminous plans detailed the Soviet government's efforts to pursue war in Europe and revealed how Poland's Communist government intended to impose martial law and crack down on the anti-Communist Solidarity movement in 1981.
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Polish novelist, a storyteller, and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. Among Sienkiewicz's most famous novels is the widely translated and often filmed “Quo Vadis” (1896). His strongly Catholic worldview deeply marked his writing. Sienkiewicz's works have been published in 50 languages.
Fryderyk Chopin
A Polish composer of the 19th century whose adult life centred mainly on Paris. A Romantic composer who wrote almost entirely for the piano, Chopin changed the world of keyboard music forever. His distinctively expressive style is reflected in his many small-scale works and two concertos he created for the piano.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Copernicus is said to be the founder of modern astronomy. Born on February 19, 1473, in Torun, Poland, Nicolaus Copernicus was destined to become, through the eventual publication of his heliocentric planetary theory 70 years later, one of the seminal figures in the history of scientific thought.
Marie Curie-Sklodowska
Through her discovery of radium, Marie Curie paved the way for nuclear physics and cancer therapy. Born of Polish parents, she was a woman of science and courage, compassionate yet stubbornly determined. Her research work was to cost her her own life.
Irena Szewinska
From the age of 18 until she was 34, Szewinska had one of the longest (and most glorious) careers in international sport. Between 1964 and 1980 she participated in five Olympic Games, winning seven medals, three of them gold. She also broke six world records and was the first woman to hold world records at 100m, 200m and 400m at the same time.
Roman Polanski
One of the most famous Polish directors and an Oscar winner. The story of Roman Polanski's life is as tortuous and full of incident and tragedy as one of his dark films. Polanski survived the Nazi atrocities committed in the Krakow ghetto, but lost his mother in a concentration camp gas chamber. He spent a large part of his life in the US and made several important films with top American actors, such as Chinatown (with Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and John Huston), and Rosemary’s Baby (with Mia Farrow). In 1969 he experienced another personal tragedy when his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered by the Manson Family. In 1978 he fled to France where he has directed Frantic, Death and the Maiden, The Ninth Gate, The Pianist, and Oliver Twist (2005).
Krystyna Janda
One of the most famous Polish actresses, frequently acting under the guidance of that renowned Polish director Andrzej Wajda, Krystyna Janda has appeared in politically oriented films mostly aimed at the negative effects on their homeland following the death of Stalin. Her most famous roles were in Man of Marble, The Iron Man, The Interrogation, and My Mother’s Lovers, but she has also starred in many stage plays. Janda now runs her own theatre in Warsaw.
