Count Jan Klemens Branicki (21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman

Szlachta

The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

, magnate

Magnate

Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...

 and Hetman

Hetman

Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....

, Field Crown Hetman

Hetman

Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....

 of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

 between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown Hetman

Hetman

Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....

 between 1752 and 1771.

He was the son of the Palatine of Podlaskie Voivodeship

Podlaskie Voivodeship

Podlaskie Voivodeship , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. It borders on Masovian Voivodeship to the west, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship to the northwest, Lublin Voivodeship to the south, the Belarusssian Voblasts of Grodno and Brest to the east, the Lithuanian Counties of Alytus and...

 Stefan Mikołaj Branicki and Katarzyna Scholastyka Sapieha, the daughter of Hetman Kazimierz Jan Sapieha. Jan had three wives. The first one was the daughter of Court and Grand Marshal

Grand Marshal

Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders...

 Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, Princess Katarzyna Barbara Radziwiłł, that he married on 1 October 1720 in Biała

Biała

Biała is a Polish word for white. It appears in many Polish toponyms:-Towns:* Biała, also called Biała Prudnicka, in Opole Voivodeship* Biała Piska, in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship* Biała Podlaska, in Lublin Voivodeship...

. His second wife was Barbara Szembek since 1732, the marriage ended in a divorce. His last wife was the daughter of the magnate Stanisław Poniatowski, Izabella Poniatowska, whom he married in 1748.

He was Podczaszy

Podczaszy

Podczaszy was since the 13th century a court office in Poland and later in Lithuania. Podczaszy was the deputy of Cześnik, with the time more important than his superior....

 of Lithuania (podczaszy litewski) in 1723, Grand Standard-Bearer of the Crown (chorąży wielki koronny) in 1724, commander of an infantry regiment (szef regimentu pieszego) in 1726, Artillery General of the Crown (generał artylerii koronnej) in 1728, hetman polny koronny in 1735, Palatine of Kraków Voivodship (wojewoda krakowski) in 1746, hetman wielki koronny in 1752 and Castellan

Castellan

A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

 of Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

 (kasztelan krakowski) in 1762. He was the Starost of Brańsk

Bransk

Brańsk is an Urban Gmina in Bielsk County, Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is located north-eastern Poland.-Etymology:The name of the town comes from the river Bronka, a nearby tributary of the Nurzec River.-Location:...

, Bielsko-Biała

Bielsko-Biała

-Economy and Industry:Nowadays Bielsko-Biała is one of the best-developed parts of Poland. It was ranked 2nd best city for business in that country by Forbes. About 5% of people are unemployed . Bielsko-Biała is famous for its textile, machine-building, and especially automotive industry...

, Mościsk, Janów Lubelski

Janów Lubelski

Janów Lubelski is a town in eastern Poland. It has 11,882 inhabitants .Situated in the Lublin Voivodship . It is the capital of Janów Lubelski County.It has a large hospital...

, Bohusław, Złotoria, Krośno

Krosno

Krosno is a town and county in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland with 47,455 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009.Notably Krosno is the site of the first oil well in the world....

 and Jezierzysk

Jezierzysk

Jezierzysk is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Czarna Białostocka, within Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland.-References:...

 (starosta brański, bielski, mościcki, janowski, bohuslawski, złotoryjski, krośnienski, jezierzyski).

Branicki was one of the most powerful and influential magnates in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 of the 18th century. He was leader of the magnates party. Connected with the Radziwiłł and Potocki

Potocki

Potocki is the surname of a Polish noble family.-History:The Potocki family is a great artistocratic family originated from Potok in the Kraków Voivodeship; their family name derives from that place name. The family is heavily entwined with the cultural development and history of Poland's Eastern...

 families and an opponent of the "Familia

Familia

Familia was the name of a Polish political party led by the Czartoryski magnates and families allied with them, and formed toward the end of the reign of King August II...

".

He sympatized with confederates of the Radom Confederation

Radom Confederation

Radom Confederation was a konfederacja of nobility in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth formed in Radom on 23 June 1767 to prevent reforms and defend the Golden Liberties...

 and the Confederation of Bar. Branicki was owner of Białystok. At that time Białystok began to develop. In 1745 he established a military and engineer school and a theatre.

In 1763–1764 he ran in the election of the King of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, but was beaten by his brother-in-law Stanisław Poniatowski.

He married firstly at Biała

Biała

Biała is a Polish word for white. It appears in many Polish toponyms:-Towns:* Biała, also called Biała Prudnicka, in Opole Voivodeship* Biała Piska, in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship* Biała Podlaska, in Lublin Voivodeship...

, on 1 October 1720, Princess Katarzyna Barbara Maria Radziwillówna (Biała

Biała

Biała is a Polish word for white. It appears in many Polish toponyms:-Towns:* Biała, also called Biała Prudnicka, in Opole Voivodeship* Biała Piska, in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship* Biała Podlaska, in Lublin Voivodeship...

, 6 December 1693 - Białystok, 16 October 1730), secondly in 1732 and divorced Barbara Szembekówna, and thirdly on 19 November 1748 to Izabella Poniatowska

Izabella Poniatowska

Countess Izabela Poniatowska was a Polish noblewoman . She was a sister of Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski, who in 1764 became King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and reigned as Stanisław II August....

 and had no issue. Jennah Karthes de Branicka, belongs, among others, to the last actual descendants of the noble family Branicki.

Awards

• Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, since 1726.

See also

• Branicki Palace
  Branicki Palace
  Branicki Palace may refer to:*Branicki Palace, Białystok*Branicki Palace, Warsaw...
  
  
• Białystok