Mieszko I (935 - 992) - the first historical ruler of Poland, credited for the Christianisation of Poland.

 

Gunhild - formerly Swiatoslawa, daughter of Mieszko I (Poland?s first leader) married Sweyn I of Denmark in 994 and had five children, including Canute the Great, King of England, Denmark and Norway.

 

Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik) (1473 ? 1543) - one of the great polymaths of the Renaissance. He was a mathematician, astronomer, jurist, physician, classical scholar, governor, administrator, diplomat, economist and soldier. As an astronomer he provided the first modern formulation of a heliocentric (sun-centered) theory of the solar system in his epochal book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres).

 

Jan III Sobieski (1629-1696) ? one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death. He was also a brilliant military commander, most famous for his victory over the Turks in the 1683 Battle of Vienna. For his victories over the Ottoman Empire, he was dubbed by the Turks the "Lion of Lehistan."

 

Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746 - 1817) - a Polish national hero, general and a leader of 1794 uprising (which bears his name) against the Russian Empire. He fought in the American Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Continental Army on the side of Washington. In recognition of his dedicated and faithful service he was brevetted by the Continental Congress to the rank of Brigadier General in 1783, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States that same year.

 

Stanisław II August Poniatowski (1732 ? 1798) - the last King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth & co-author of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, generally recognized as Europe's first and the world's second modern codified national constitution.

 

Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki (Sh-ch-let-tzki) (1797 ? 1873) - Polish explorer and mineralogist visited Australia in the 1830?s. His interest in geology and ecology led him to publish one of the first paleaontologic studies of Australia, providing geological history and images of samples collected during his 1,000 km journey across south-eastern Australia. During his journey he named Mount Kosciuszko, Gippsland and the La Trobe River. Victoria?s Strzelecki Ranges in South Gippsland and the national park on Flinders Island (including the island?s highest peak, which he climbed) are some of the many places and natural features named in honour throughout Australia.

 

Adam Mickiewicz (1798 ? 1855) - one of the best-known Polish poets and writers, considered the greatest 19th-Century Polish poet. Best known his epic poem Pan Tadeusz considered by many the last great epic poem in European literature.

 

Frederic Chopin (1810 ? 1849) - Polish pianist and composer, widely regarded as one of the most famous, influential, admired and prolific composers for the piano. Several of Chopin's melodies have become very well known - for instance the Revolutionary Étude (Op. 10, No. 12), the Minute Waltz (Op. 64, No. 1), and the third movement of his Funeral March sonata (Op. 35), which is often used as an iconic representation of grief

 

Jan Matejko (1838 ? 1893) - was a Polish artist famous for paintings of notable Polish political and military events. These include a Battle of Grunwald, numerous court scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings. He is also known for his portrayals of the famous Polish court jester Stańczyk.

 

Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846 -1916) - a Nobel Prize-winning Polish novelist, best known in Poland for his historical novels (The Trilogy) set during the 17th century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, elsewhere he is known for Quo Vadis.

Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004) - poet, prose writer, essayist, translator. Nobel Prize-winner in 1980 and Polish Nike Prize-winner in 1998 for ?The little wayside dog?. Has been awarded many honorary degrees, including from Harvard University and the Jagiellonian University.

 

John Paul II (1920 ? 2005) ? Poland?s most famous son and the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years.

 

Andrzej Wajda (1926 - ) ? director, member of the ?Immortal Circle? of the French Academy of Fine Arts. He was honoured with the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1998 for his contributions to cinema. He also won a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2000. He has been awarded the French Legion of Honour and Japanese Order of the Rising Sun. In 1996 he was awarded the Silver Bear award in Berlin. In 2001 the German president awarded him the Great Cross of Merit

 

Roman Polanski ? (1933 - ) Academy Award-winning Polish film director and actor. His films include Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974), Frantic (1988), the Academy Award-winning The Pianist (2002), and Oliver Twist (2005).

 

Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-1996) - an influential Oscar-nominated Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for his film cycles Three Colors and The Decalogue.

 

Lech Wałęsa (1943 - ) ? Polish politician, a former trade union and human rights activist, and also a former electrician. He co-founded Solidarity (Solidarność), the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland from 1990 to 1995.

 

Marek Kaminski (1964 -) - traveler, in 1995 he was the first person to reach both poles: the North Pole on 23rd May 1995 and the South Pole on 27 Dec. 1995. Earlier, preparing for this feat he walked to Spitsbergen (400 km) and Greenland?s glaciers (600 km).

 

Adam Malysz (1977 - ) ? ski jumper - World Cup and World Champion gold medalist and Olympic silver and bronze medallist. He has won 3 World Cups in a row, an unprecedented achievement.