Stanislas Hernisz () (1805 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

– 20 April 1866 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) was a Polish freedom-fighter, journalist, physician, employee of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

and

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

Jewish descent ''Zera Yisrael'' (), also known as ''Zera Kadosh'' (), is a legal category in ''Halakha'' that denotes the blood descendants of Jews who, for one reason or another, are not legally Jewish according to religious criteria. This is usually due to a ...

. He was born as a son of the Warsaw merchant Gustaw Hernisz and his wife Karolina. He was a pupil of the

Warsaw Rabbinical School Warsaw Rabbinical School (Warszawska Szkoła Rabinów) was a Junior High School for Jewish male youth established in 1826 on the basis of the ukase of the emperor Nicholas of July 1, 1825 and existed until the school year 1860/1861. History Th ...

. After the outbreak of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

in 1830–1831 against Russians, despite the objection of the conservative Jewish community, together with Józef Berkowicz, son of the Jewish colonel of the Polish Army during the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

, Berek Joselewicz, he applied for establishing of a volunteer Jewish battalion. To encourage the Jewish youth to the participation in the uprising, he wrote the text of the "Patriotic Song” to the music of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

song “Hulanka” (“Revel” Op. 74 No. 4, 1830), transposed from C major to E major. He was fighting in the November Uprising with the rank of lieutenant of the First Masur regiment. After the defeat of the uprising he emigrated to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and was engaged mainly in journalism. Together with Jakub Malinowski and Napoleon Kraczak he published 1833 a volume of translations from the Polish language L'exilé de la Pologne (Polish émigrés). In the Paris monthly “Północ” No. 9 from 15 May 1835 he published the article "''Polacy wyznania mojżeszowego''" (Poles of mosaic faith). During his stay in France he joined the Paris staff of the

, and emigrated later to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. During his service he studied medicine and obtained the Medicine Doctor degree. He was sent as Attaché to the U. S. Chinese Mission, where he was also employed as physician. Hernisz became the member of the

American Oriental Society The American Oriental Society is a learned society that encourages basic research in the languages and literatures of the Near East and Asia. It was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned ...

. He published 1846 in the Bulletin of the Proceedings of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science a treatise “On the Chinese language”. In 1854, he published “A Guide to Conversation in the English and Chinese Languages for the Use of Americans and Chinese in California and Elsewhere” in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. This book was used to communicate with Chinese workers during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

(1848-1855). After the home-coming to Boston, Hernisz practicised medicine, emphasizing his knowledge of English, French, Spanish, Italian and German languages.Daily Alta California, Volume 6, Number 82, 28 March 1855: DR. STANISLAS HERNISZ, BUSH STREET, Next door to the Financial Mail. Office hours, from 10 A. M. to 1 P. M. The Doctor speaks the English, French, Spanish, Italian and German languages He died in London during his next journey to China.

References

Polish Judaistic Dictionary
* "Midrasz" No. 1 (31), November 1999, Warsaw, Poland, ISSN 1428-121X, page 45 * Stanislas Hernisz: ''A Guide to Conversation in the English and Chinese Languages: for the Use of Americans and Chinese in California and Elsewhere'' : HardPress Publishing : 2012, {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernisz, Stanislas American people of Polish-Jewish descent November Uprising participants Polish journalists Polish–French translators Jewish physicians 19th-century American diplomats American sinologists 1805 births 1866 deaths Immigrants to the United States