Mickiewicz

Mickiewicz, Adam (1798-1855), the poet of Poland, was born in Lithuania. His first volume of poems was published in 1822, and was succeeded three years later by a series of sonnets on the Crimea. In 1829 appeared Konrad Wallenrod and Grazyna, the subject of which was the struggle between the Lithuanians and the Teutonic Knights. The first was translated into English in 1841Pan Tadeusz appeared in 1834. In 1840 Mickiewicz became professor of Slavonic literature at Paris; but he was unable to refrain from giving utterance to his political views, and was therefore deposed in 1843. Before his death he returned to Paris (where his collected works were first published in 1861), to become librarian to the Arsenal Library on the nomination of Louis Napoleon. He died at Constantinople, whither he had gone to organise a Polish legion - a service he had formerly performed in Italy.