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Jan Józef Tyssowski (March 8, 1811 – April 5, 1857), born in
Jan Józef Tyssowski (March 8, 1811 – April 5, 1857), born in Tarnów
Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn ...
, Poland, was the self-proclaimed Dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
of the Republic of Kraków
The Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory, more commonly known as the Free City of Cracow, and the Republic of Cracow, was a city-state, city republic created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which included ...
during the failed 1846 uprising. He was a Polish intellectual and activist during Poland's rebellions against its occupying powers. He studied philosophy and law at the University of Lwow
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
. After the failed 1831 November Uprising, Russian authorities prohibited his return to Lwow, and he went study at the University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...
. He was a Polish political organizer in Galicia with Ludwik Mieroslawski, and was active within the aristocracy and insurrectionist movement. In 1846, Krakow revolted against the Austrians and they withdrew, leaving the Polish-controlled Republic of Krakow in Tyssowski's hands. The government had originally been established as a triumvirate
A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
between Tyssowski and two others, but personal differences led Tyssowski to take control. Intending a " classless society", he declared universal suffrage
Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...
, emancipation of the peasantry, and the discontinuation of rents for peasants. The Republic attempted to expand into neighboring rural areas, and sympathetic peasants did join the cause, but these units were defeated by much larger Austrian armies, which also had broad support among the peasants. On March 3, Russia occupied the city and passed it back to Austria. Roughly 1,200 people were arrested and approximately 100 were imprisoned in the Kufstein Fortress
The Kufstein Fortress (german: Festung Kufstein) is the main landmark of Kufstein, a town in Tyrol, Austria. It is sometimes wrongly referred to as ''Geroldseck Fortress''. It is on a hill commanding Kufstein proper. Kufstein Fortress is above sea ...
. The Austrian Empire captured Tyssowski who surrendered to the occupying forces, and allowed him to emigrate.
He was exiled from Austria and emigrated to the United States in 1847, where he became a Polonia activist in New York City. He published a newspaper and became part-owner of the ''Deutsche Schnellpost
Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to:
*''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places
*''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym
* Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic v ...
'', a German-language daily with socialist leanings. He attempted to gain support from the German American community in joining the cause for Polish liberation. He worked for the United States government as a second class clerk and later assistant examiner for the US Patent Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...
.
References
*M. Neomisia Rutkowska. ''John Tyssowski''. Polish Roman Catholic Union of America. 1943.