Adam Zamoyski

Adam Stefan Zamoyski
Coat of arms Jelita
Spouse(s) Emma Sergeant
Family Zamoyski
Father Stefan Adam Zamoyski
Mother Elżbieta Czartoryska
Born (1949-01-11) 11 January 1949
New York City, United States

Adam Zamoyski is a British historian and author, descended from the ancient Polish Zamoyski noble family.

Personal Life

Jelita coat of arms

Born in New York City in 1949, Adam Stefan Zamoyski was brought up in England, first attending St Philip’s Preparatory School in London’s South Kensington (1957-1962), then completing his secondary education at the Benedictine Downside School (1962-1966) and graduating from The Queen's College, Oxford, where he read History and Modern Languages (1967-1970). He went on to gain an M.A. Honours degree in 1974.

Zamoyski first visited Poland in the 1960s. He has dual Polish-British nationality and speaks English, Polish, French, Italian and Russian. His parents, Count Stefan Zamoyski (1904-1976) and Princess Elizabeth Czartoryska (1905-1989), married in 1929 in Gołuchów, Poland, but left their homeland in 1939 soon after its invasion by Germany and Russia. When the Soviets took power at the end of World War II, they found themselves stranded in the West, eventually settling in London.

Zamoyski lives in London with his wife, the painter Emma Sergeant, whom he married in 2001. They also spend some time in their second home near Zamość in south-eastern Poland, the city founded by his forefathers in the 1500s and retaining much of its Renaissance character, designed by the Italian architect, Bernardo Morando.

As a landowner in Poland, Zamoyski is active in preserving the natural habitat within an area of great biodiversity. He has planted thousands of trees and restored a number of traditional wooden country cottages there.

Career

Zamoyski is a freelance historian and author of over a dozen books, including two major bestsellers, his history of Poland, The Polish Way, and his account of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812. His most recent book, Phantom Terror, The Threat of Revolution and the Repression of Liberty, is a scholarly and provocative study of Europe following the French Revolution and the influences of the Enlightenment. Zamoyski’s books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. His history of Poland has brought knowledge of that country to millions and is deemed the benchmark handbook on the subject for any diplomat, businessman, or cultural tourist travelling there. Zamoyski has lectured in Europe, the USA and Australia, as well as making television and radio appearances. Various debates in which he has taken part are accessible online. His biography of Chopin, Chopin. Prince of the Romantics, was serialised as the 'Book of the Week’ on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.


Books

Most of Zamoyski’s books are available as e-books.

Contributions and Other Publications

Zamoyski has contributed articles, essays and book reviews for various newspapers and periodicals, including The Times, The Times Literary Supplement, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The Sunday Times, The Evening Standard, The European, The Catholic Herald, The Art Newspaper, The Australian, The Spectator, The Literary Review, History Today, Books & Bookmen, Encounter, Tatler, Departures, Country Life, Event, Apollo, Harpers & Queen, and Turquoise, as well as foreign language publications such as Libération (French), Wiadomości, Tydzień Polski, Dziennik Polski, Rzeczpospolita, Newsweek (Polish).

Pro Bono Activities

Charitable Activities

As a member of the Polish Association of the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Malta since 1977 and its first post-war Hospitaller (1981), Zamoyski organised and led 21 pilgrimages for handicapped people to Lourdes. He also organised international summer camps for young handicapped in Poland. In the period 1980-85 Zamoyski formed the Committee for Aid and Relief to Hospitals in Poland, collecting funds and medical supplies in Britain and delivering them to hard-pressed hospitals in Poland. In 1991 Zamoyski established the Foundation of St John of Jerusalem (Fundacja św Jana Jerozolimskiego) in Warsaw, the first charitable organ of the Order of Malta in Poland. The organisation helps the handicapped and the poor. He was also a member of the Board of Management at the Kolbe House Residential Care Home for the Elderly in London from 1986 to 2010.

Honours and Distinctions

See also

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 2/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.