Stanislaw August Poniatowski, king of Poland from 1764 R. do 1795 R. and the last partition of the Republic of Poland.
Was born in 1732 R. jako syn kasztelana krakowskiego Stanisława Poniatowskiego i Konstancji Czartoryskiej i nie miał na pewno królewskich aspiracji. Charakteryzowało go szczególnie dobre wykształcenie, familiarity and experience from numerous trips around Europe, during which he not only learned a lot, but he also met many important figures of the epoch, and state governance systems.
W 1764 R. with the support of the family (tj. Czartoryski and their parties) and Catherine, Tsarina of Russia, was elected king of Poland. He undertook a number of reforms concerning the army (replacement of cavalry with infantry), established a minting commission, he took up ordering matters related to the minting of the coin, he set up commissions of good order to strengthen the cities. Besides, he was a patron of the arts. He supported both artists and architects, and writers. He organized the famous Thursday Dinners, where he met people of culture and gave the opportunity to present his works and ideas. He also took care of schooling and education. He established the National Education Commission and founded the Knight's School. He was also a signatory of the Polish constitution (Government Act) z 3 house 1791 R. However, all the reforms did not remove the tragedy of partitions from the king and the state.
After the last partition of 1795 R. at the request of Katarzyna II, Stanisław August signed the act of abdication. He moved to St. Petersburg and died there three years later.
Stanislaw August Poniatowski
