Antoni Berezowski (May 9, 1847 in Avratin,

Volhynian Governorate Volhynia Governorate, also known as Volyn Governorate, was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Southwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. It consisted of an area of and a population of 2,989,482 inhabitants. The governorate ...

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– 1916 in

Bourail Bourail (, Ajië language, Ajië: Bu Rhaï) is a communes of France, commune in the South Province, New Caledonia, South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Bourail is a rural town of Grand ...

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) was a Polish nationalist who made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Russian emperor Alexander II.

Biography

Anton Berezowski (Russian: Антон Иосифович Березовский) was the son of an impoverished Polish nobleman from the Volyn region of north west Ukraine. His parents taught music. As a 16 year old, in 1863, he took part in the Polish revolt against Russian rule. He emigrated to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1865 where he worked in a metalwork workshop. In 1867 when

Tsar Alexander II Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland fro ...

arrived to Paris for the

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, Berezowski conceived the idea to kill him to liberate his native land. On June 6 at 5:00 p.m. at

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(in

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) he shot at the tsar who had just come back from a military review (together with the tsar there were two of his sons and

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

, Emperor of the French). His double-barrelled pistol broke off at the shot, and the bullet, having deviated, wounded a horse of an accompanying Russian. Berezovsky, whose hand was wounded by the explosion, was seized by the crowd and arrested. In court on July 15 Berezovsky declared that his purpose in shooting at the tsar was to release his native land; he only expressed one regret, that it occurred in Poland-friendly France. Berezovsky avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to lifelong hard labor in New Caledonia on the island of Grand Terre. In 1886 hard labor was commuted to life. In 1906 he was pardoned, but did not wish to come back from New Caledonia, remaining there until his death in 1916.

References

*http://db.generiques.org/biographie/?bio=el&row=97
Berezowski Antoni – Encyklopedia PWN
at encyklopedia.pwn.pl

at portalwiedzy.onet.pl

*[http://www.pravda.ru/society/fashion/tendencies/06-06-2007/227145-sfrhkm-0 Иван Правдин. Покушение на российского императора совершил Березовский]
Д.Шерих. Березовский метил в царя
2009-10-25)
Березовский Антон Иосифович//Биография.ру
1847 births 1916 deaths People from Zhytomyr Oblast People from Zhitomirsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent 19th-century Polish nobility Failed regicides Polish prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by France Polish people imprisoned in Russia Recipients of French presidential pardons 1867 crimes in Europe {{poland-noble-stub