4TH COMENIUS MEETING January 2010 Strzeleczki, Poland

WHO ARE THE MOST FAMOUS POLISH PERSONALITIES IN PORTUGAL?

NICOLAUS COPERNICUS Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was the first astronomer to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology, which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe. Among the great polymaths of the Renaissance, Copernicus was a mathematician, astronomer, physician, quadrilingual polyglot, classical scholar, translator, artist, Catholic cleric, jurist, governor, military leader, diplomat and economist. Among his many responsibilities, astronomy figured as little more than an avocation — yet it was in that field that he made his mark upon the world.

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN Frédéric François Chopin (Polish: Fryderyk Franciszek Szopen; 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He was one of the great masters of Romantic music. Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, in the Duchy of Warsaw, and was regarded as a child-prodigy pianist. On 2 November 1830, at the age of twenty, he left Warsaw for Austria, intending to go on to Italy, but he ended up in france. In Paris, Chopin made a comfortable living as a composer and piano teacher, while giving few public performances. Always in frail health, he died in Paris in 1849, aged thirty-nine, from pulmonary tuberculosis.

MARIE CURIE Marie Skłodowska Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a physicist and chemist of Polish upbringing and, subsequently, French citizenship. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes, receiving one in physics and later, one in chemistry. She was the first woman to serve as professor at the University of Paris. Her achievements include the creation of a theory of radioactivity, techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two new elements, polonium and radium.

POPE JOHN PAUL II Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojtyła (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005) served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate. He has been the only Polish Pope to date, and was the first non-Italian Pope since 1520.

LECH WAŁĘSA Lech Wałęsa (born 29 September 1943) is a Polish politician and a former trade union and human rights activist. He co-founded Solidarity (Solidarność), the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland from 1990 to 1995.

ROBERT KUBICA Robert Kubica (born December 7, 1984 in Kraków, Poland) is the first Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. From 2006 he has driven for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test driver to race driver during In June 2008, Kubica took his maiden F1 victory in the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix, becoming the 99th driver to win a World Championship race. From the 2010 season, Kubica will be racing for Renault.

ROMAN POLAŃSKI Roman Raymond Polanski (Polish: Roman Rajmund Polański; born 18 August 1933) is a French- born and resident Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. He received several awards and nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Director (The Pianist, 2002). His more important movies are Chinatown (1974), Tess (1979) and The Pianist (2002)

JÓZEF MŁYNARCZYK Józef Młynarczyk (born September 20, 1953 in Nowa Sól) is a Polish former goalkeeper who played for Poland in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup Finals, finishing in 3rd place in He signed for FC Porto, the Portuguese team with more international titles and current national champion, in 1986 where he won the European Champions Cup, the Intercontinental Cup and the European Supercup. He retired from competition in 1989, and took up the job of coaching FC Porto's goalkeepers.

ZBIGNIEW 'ZIBI' BONIEK Zbigniew 'Zibi' Boniek ( born 3 March 1956 in Bydgoszcz) is a former Polish footballer and coach. Boniek was named by Pelé as one of the 125 Greatest Living Footballers and by FIFA as one of the 100 best-ever players. On October 12, 2009 he received a Golden Foot career award. Boniek represented Poland in 80 internationals and scored 24 goals. As a player, Boniek was known for his blistering pace and acceleration. He was one of the best dribblers of his time and also displayed superb technique.

ANNA STANKALA AND EWA KAUCZOR ANNA STANKALA AND EWA KAUCZOR