Political activist and commentator, associated with democratic and patriotic circles.
He was born on September 13, 1803 in Bojaniec, near Żółkiew. During his studies at the Faculty of Law at Warsaw University, he became involved in illegal independence activity. His participation in the work of the Union of Free Poles resulted in his imprisonment (1823-1824). Under pressure from the Russian authorities, he prepared a memorandum criticizing the alleged liberalism of the educational system of the Kingdom of Poland. He regained his freedom, but the work aroused great controversy. Between 1825 and 1829 he edited the newspaper Dziennik Warszawski. At that time he established his position as a leading ideologist of the democratic camp and an influential literary scholar and critic, associated with the Romantic current emerging in Polish literature. In the late 1820s he joined the work of conspirators from the circle of Piotr Wysocki. He took part in the November Uprising, actively working to help radical circles to gain an advantage in its authorities. He later wrote a book about the Novemeber Uprising, titled Powstanie narodu polskiego w roku 1830 i 1831 (The Uprising of the Polish Nation in 1830 and 1831). He opposed the policies of the moderate Administrative Council and Józef Chłopicki, and supported the dictator Jan Krukowiecki. He was a co-founder of the Patriotic Society, the main organization of democratic and insurrectionary left-wing circles during the uprising. He also took part in the fighting as an ordinary soldier – he was awarded the War Order of Virtuti Militari, and was promoted to officer rank. After the defeat of the uprising he emigrated to France. His articles were published in Pamiętnik Emigracji Polskiej, though with time he became increasingly distant from the mainstream of political life in exile. He died on December 20, 1834 in Auxerre.