Adam Gurowski

Count Adam Gurowski (September 10, 1805, in Russocice near Kalisz, Poland – May 4, 1866, in Washington, D.C.) was a Polish-born author who emigrated to the United States in 1849.

Having been expelled in 1818 and again in 1819 from the gymnasia of Warsaw and Kalisz for revolutionary demonstrations, young Gurowski continued his studies at various German universities.

On its suppression, Gurowski lost the greater part of his estates and escaped to France, where he lived for several years.

[1] Gurowski experienced a total change of heart on the question of Polish nationalism and abjectly pleaded with Tsarist authorities for a pardon.

The book being favorably regarded by the Russian government, Gurowski was recalled, and, although his estates were not restored, he was employed in the civil service.

In 1843, the Marquis de Custine, lover of Gurowski's brother Ignacy, published La Russie en 1839, a polemical travelogue focusing on the Russian Empire.

[3] In the lead-up to the inauguration of Lincoln as president, Gurowski met with pro-Union Republicans in Washington who were delegates to the "Peace Conference," warning them of secessionist plots to disrupt the electoral college, and of Southern intentions to foment takeover of the government either at the time electoral ballots were counted or on March 4, inauguration day.