Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled Kołłątay (1 April 1750 – 28 February 1812), was a prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Polish Enlightenment. He served as Deputy Chancellor of the Crown between 1791–1792. He was a Catholic priest, social and political activist, political thinker, historian, philosopher, and polymath.

Biography

Early life

Hugo Kołłątaj was born on 1 April 1750 in Dederkały Wielkie (now in Western Ukraine) in Volhynia into a family of Polish nobility. Soon after, his family moved to Nieciesławice, near Sandomierz, where he spent his childhood. He began his studies at the Kraków Academy, subsequently, Jagiellonian University, where he studied law and gained a doctorate.

Further reading

  • Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Historia filozofii (History of Philosophy), 3 vols., Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1978.
  • Works by Hugo Kołłątaj in digital library Polona