Jakub Mortkowicz (25 March 1876 − 9 August 1931) was a Polish book publisher and bookseller.

Biography

He was born to a

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

family in Opoczono, as a son of Eliasz. Young Jakub graduated from junior high school in

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

. Then, he was studying in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and

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, where he graduated from Trading Academy and was a member of the Association of the Polish Students (Stowarzyszenie Polskich Studentów) and the Federation of the Socialist Youth (Związek Młodzieży Socjalistycznej). After returning to Poland, he was working for Hyppolite Wawelberg and joined the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party (, PPS) is a democratic socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most significant parties in Poland from its founding in 1892 until its forced merger with the communist Polish Workers' Party to form ...

. For socialist activity, Jakub Mortkowicz was prisoned in the

Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish language, Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nikolay I of Russia, Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster im ...

and then he was punished by forced migration to the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains * * Azerbaijani: , * * * * * * * * * * * is a mountain range at the intersection of Asia and Europe. Stretching between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, they are surrounded by the Caucasus region ...

. In 1903, when he returned to Warsaw, Mortkowicz and Teodor Toeplitz founded the Mortkowicz Towarzystwo Wydawnicze w Warszawie Sp. Akc., one of the most important book's companies in prewar Poland. In 1931 he committed suicide. Jakub Mortkowicz was buried at the

Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw Jewish cemeteries of Warsaw refers to a number of Jewish necropolises in the city. Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe. Located on Okopowa Street and abutting the Powązk ...

. He was married to a translator Janina Mortkowicz. Their daughter

Hanna Mortkowicz-Olczakowa Hanna Mortkowicz-Olczakowa (15 October 1905 – 5 January 1968) was a Polish poet and writer. She was the writer of several novels for children and young adults. Biography She was born on 15 October 1905 in Warsaw to a Jewish family, as a daugh ...

was a writer, as her daughter

Joanna Olczak-Ronikier Joanna Olczak-Ronikier (born 12 November 1934) is a Polish writer and scenarist, co-founder of the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret in Kraków. Biography Joanna Olczak was born on 12 November 1934 in Warsaw to a Polish-Jewish family, as a daught ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortkowicz, Jakub 1876 births Polish publishers (people) 19th-century Polish Jews 1931 suicides 1931 deaths Jewish Polish writers Suicides in Poland