Jan Potocki

Count Jan Potocki (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjan pɔˈtɔt͡skʲi]; 8 March 1761 – 23 December 1815) was a Polish nobleman, ethnologist, linguist, traveller and author of the Enlightenment period, whose life and exploits made him a celebrated figure in Poland. He is known chiefly for his picaresque novel, The Manuscript Found in Saragossa. Born into affluent Polish nobility, Potocki lived abroad from an early age and was primarily educated in Switzerland. He frequently visited the salons of Paris and toured Europe before temporarily returning to Poland in 1778. As a soldier, he fought in Austrian ranks in the War of the Bavarian Succession, and in 1789 was appointed a military engineer in the Polish army. During his extensive voyages he actively documented prevailing customs, ongoing wars, revolutions and national awakenings, which made him a pioneer of travel literature. Fascinated by the occult, Potocki studied ancient cultures, rituals and secret societies. Simultaneously, he was a member of parliament and took part in the Great Sejm shortly before the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist. In spite of his literary career, Count Potocki became burdened by mental illness and melancholy. He committed suicide by gunshot in 1815; however, the circumstances of his death remain controversial to this day.