Działyński, Jan Kanty hrabia

Jan Kanty hrabia Działyński (1829-1880). Polish, lord of the manor and private scholar, 1861/62 member of the Prussian Landtag and 1869/70 member of the Reichstag of the North German Confederation. Painting by Leon Kapliński, 1864
Jan Kanty hrabia Działyński (1829-1880). Polish, lord of the manor and private scholar, 1861/62 member of the Prussian Landtag and 1869/70 member of the Reichstag of the North German Confederation. Painting by Leon Kapliński, 1864

Działyński, Jan Kanty hrabia (Johann Graf-Comte Dzialynski, Johann von Dzialynski), 1861/62 member of the 2nd Chamber of the Prussian Landtag, 1869-70 member of the Reichstag of the North German Confederation. *28.9.1829 Kurnik/Kórnik, †30.3.1880 ibid., lord of the manor, private scholar, publicist. Son of the estate owner Tytus Adam hr. Działyński (1797-1861). After completing his studies at the Maria-Magdalena grammar school in Poznan he served in the Prussian army between 1849 and 1851. He attended lectures on philology at the University in Berlin and studied mathematics with private teachers in Paris. In 1857 he married Princess Izabella Elżbieta Czartoryska in Paris. The couple settled in Gołuchów Mansion, that had been purchased by Tytus Adam hr. Działyński as a ruin and was intended as their future residence after Izabella had it completely renovated between 1875 and 85. Here they built up an important collection of art (paintings, antique vases). After the death of his father he took over the estate at Kurnik, which included a mansion, a library and arboretum that still exist today. Furthermore he took over the mansion on the marketplace in Poznan. He published articles for the Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk/Poznan Society of Friends of the Sciences. In 1862/63 he travelled to the Middle East. During the 1863 Polish January Uprising he fought with the rebel troops led by Edmund Taczanowski and fled to France after they were defeated. In 1864 he was sentenced to death in his absence by the Royal State Court in Berlin for high treason, and his estates were confiscated. In 1869 he was pardoned and allowed to return to Kurnik. He subsequently devoted himself to cultural activities, building up his library and collection of historical and political publications. In May 1869 he was elected as a member of the Polish parliamentary group of the Reichstag of the North German Confederation for the constituency of Poznan city. In April 1871 the election was declared invalid on the grounds of procedural errors. In 1872 he was one of the founders of the Bank Włościański/Farmers Bank in Poznan. picture: a painting by Leon Kapliński (1864), Public Domain. Own writings: Collectanea vitam resque gestas J. Zamoyscii Magni Cancellarii et summi Ducis Reipublicae Polonae illustrantia edidit A.T. Comes Działyński, Poznan 1861; Lites ac res gestæ inter Polonos Ordinemque cruciferorum, Poznan 1890-92 (mit Ignacy Zakrzewski, Zygmunt Celichowski).

Further reading:

Polen-Prozess. Verhandlungen des Königl. Staats-Gerichtshofes zu Berlin in der Untersuchungssache wider den Grafen Johann Dzialyński und Genossen wegen Hochverraths, Berlin 1864, https://babel.hathitrust.org; Reichstagsprotokolle 1867/70,11, 609; P. Lallemand: Le comte Jean Dzialynski, Paris 1880; A. Mężyński: Jan Działyński 1829-1880, Breslau 1987.

Online:

http://zhsf.gesis.org, Parlamentarierportal, BIORAB Kaiserreich online
http://www.reichstag-abgeordnetendatenbank.de/
http://www.sejm-wielki.pl/
Muzeum Zamek w Gołuchowie, http://www.mnp.art.pl/muzeum/oddzialy/muzeum-zamek-w-goluchowie/
Schloss Kórnik, http://regionwielkopolska.pl/de/objektkatalog/das-schloss-in-kornik.html

Axel Feuß, March 2017