Poland : Famous Poles / Sławni Polacy

NATIONAL HEROES

Jan Paweł II (John Paul II). Born as Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice. After the death of John Paul I in 1978, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church elected Karol Wojtyła as a new Pope. Wojtyła became the first non-Italian Pope in almost 500 years. John Paul II was the first Pope to 'demolish the walls of the Vatican' and visited to 132 countries to announce the Gospel. The Pope played an important role in the fall of the communism in Poland and in the Eastern Europe.

Lech Wałęsa. Before becoming the first President of Poland after the fall of the communism, Mr Wałęsa was an electrician in the Gdańsk shipyard and a leader of the Solidarity movement. As a Solidarity leader, he played an important role during the Round Table Talks in 1989. Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Józef Piłsudski. A major figure in the Polish and European history. Marshall Piłsudski was a key figure in the early 1990s. He led the Polish nation to Independance in 1918, and two years later he stopped the Red Army at the Battle of Warsaw.

WRITERS

Henryk Sienkiewicz. Novelist. Nobel literature Prize laureate. Mr Sienkiewicz's ''Quo Vadis'' and other novels were translated into 50 languages.

Adam Mickiewicz. Poet. His ''Forefathers Eve'' was a great success in Poland. The drama is being regarded as one of the best and is an obligatory reading material at high school.

MUSICIANS

Fryderyk Chopin. Born as Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin in Żelazowa Wola, Poland. Chopin was a Romantic piano composer.

Krzysztof Penderecki. 'Doctor Honoris Causa' at several world universities. Awarded with the Best Composer Award at the Midem Festival of cannes in 2000.

DISCOVERER

Mikołaj Kopernik (Nicolaus Copernicus). Born in Poland. Founder of Modern Astronomy. He discovered that the earth revolved around the Sun rather than the Sun around the Earth.

SCIENTIST

Marie Skłodowska-Curie. She discovered radium and polonium (named after Poland). Nobel Prize laureate in Physics and Chemistry. The only person to win Nobel Prizes in two sciences.

SPORTSMEN

Irena Szewińska. Polish athlete who took part in 5 Olympic Games, winning 7 medals. Mrs Szewińska broke 6 WR.

Andrzej Gołota. Heavyweight boxer. Bronze Medalist at the Seul 1988 Summer Olympics. 41 wins (KO 33), 9 losses, 1 draw.

Adam Małysz. Ski jumper. 'Flying Pole from Wisła'. Małysz has 4 individual Olympic Games medals, 4 individual World Championships gold medals, 4 individual World Cup titles, 39 individual wins and 92 podiums. Currently a rally racing driver (reaching 13th place in the Dakar race in 2014).

Kazimierz Deyna. Footballer and lieutenant of the Polish People's Army. Top scorer in the Munich Olympics in 1972.

Zbigniew Boniek. Footballer, businessman and a Polish Football Association Chairman. . He scored 24 goals in 80 games.

Justyna Kowalczyk. Cross country ski champion. Olympic multimedalist. Fourfold winner of then World Cup ski races. Miss Kowalczyk won 3 World Cup titles and 4 Tour de Ski titles in a row. She won 5 Winter Olympic Medals of which 2 were gold.