Count Adam Józef Potocki (24 February 1822,

Łańcut Łańcut (, ; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the Capital (political), capital of Łańcut County. History Archeological investigat ...

– 15 June 1872,

Krzeszowice Krzeszowice () is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. As of 2004, its population was 9,993. Krzeszowice belongs to ''Kraków Metropolitan Area'', and lies 25 kilometers west of the center of the city of Krakó ...

) was a Polish politician from Galicia, who was a prominent advocate for the autonomy of that region. He owned numerous estates, steel mills in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, and shares in the consortium building Galicia's railway lines.

Biography

He was the son of an army officer, Count Artur Potocki, and his wife,

Zofia Zofia is a Slavic given name of Old Greek origin, meaning wisdom. It is a variant of Sofia. Famous people with the name Zofia: * Anna Zofia Sapieha (1799–1864) * Maria Zofia Sieniawska * Zofia Albinowska-Minkiewiczowa (1886–1971) * Zofia Balt ...

née Countess Branicka, a well-known art collector. He initially studied at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

then, from 1839 to 1840, at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and, in 1841, completed his studies at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

. Following the

Kraków uprising The Kraków Uprising ( Polish: ''powstanie krakowskie'', ''rewolucja krakowska''; German: ''Krakauer Aufstand''; Russian: ''краковское восстание'') of 1846 was an attempt, led by Polish insurgents such as Jan Tyssowski and ...

of 1846, he supported the resolution that would have maintained it as a Free City, but it was annexed by Austria. In 1847 he married Countess

Katarzyna Branicka Countess Katarzyna Potocka, née Branicka Korczak coat of arms (eng. Catherine Potocka) (10 December 1825 – 20 September 1907) was a Polish noblewoman and art collector. Through her paternal grandmother, Aleksandra Branicka, she was a put ...

, a distant relative of his mother, in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. They had four children: Róża, who married a landowner,

Artur Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur meaning "bear-like", or “of honour”. It is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word '' ...

, a politician and insurance executive,

Andrzej Andrzej is the Polish form of the given name Andrew. Notable individuals with the given name Andrzej * Andrzej Bartkowiak (born 1950), Polish film director and cinematographer * Andrzej Bobola, S.J. (1591–1657), Polish saint, missionary and ...

, a politician, and . His first involvement in politics came during the

Revolutions of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

. That year, he was elected to the Imperial Diet, representing a constituency in Kraków, but resigned after only a few months, following a failed attempt to rescind the ordinance prohibiting political refugees from entering the city. Shortly after, he became a commander in the .''Polski słownik biograficzny'', 1983, Vol.XXVII After the defeat of the Revolution, he was sentenced to six years in prison, but was pardoned in 1852, He returned to politics and, from 1861, was a member of the

Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria The Diet of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and of the Grand Duchy of Cracow was the regional assembly of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, and later Austria-Hungary. In the history of the Polish ...

and was chosen to represent that area in the Imperial Council, and was one of the 34 members who rejected the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

. He served until 1870 when he resigned as part of a general protest against the government's continued refusal to grant autonomy to Galicia. In addition to his political career, he was active as a journalist and was one of the founders of ' ("Time"), a political magazine that was published until 1939. He died of "paralysis".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potocki, Adam Jozef 1822 births 1872 deaths People from Łańcut Polish Austro-Hungarians 19th-century Polish nobility 19th-century Polish politicians Members of the Imperial Diet (Austria) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1861–1867) Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1867–1870) Members of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish journalists 19th-century Polish landowners