SOCIAL ACTIVIST

Ryszard Siwiec

1909 - 1968

Photo of Ryszard Siwiec

Icon of person Ryszard Siwiec

Ryszard Siwiec (Polish pronunciation: [ˈrɨʂart ˈɕivjɛt͡s]; 7 March 1909 – 12 September 1968) was a Polish accountant and former Home Army resistance member who was the first person to die by self-immolation in protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia. Although his act was captured by a motion picture camera, Polish press omitted any mention of the incident, which was successfully suppressed by the authorities. Siwiec prepared his plan alone, and few people realized what he tried to achieve with his sacrifice. His story remained mostly forgotten until the fall of communism, when it was first recounted in a documentary film by Polish director Maciej Drygas. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Ryszard Siwiec is the 283rd most popular social activist (down from 250th in 2019), the 546th most popular biography from Poland (down from 473rd in 2019) and the 10th most popular Polish Social Activist.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Ryszard Siwiec by language

Loading...

Among SOCIAL ACTIVISTS

Among social activists, Ryszard Siwiec ranks 283 out of 840. Before him are Eglantyne Jebb, Wat Tyler, Abu al-Qasim al-Khoei, Itagaki Taisuke, Serge Klarsfeld, and Sultan al-Atrash. After him are Li Hongzhi, Aruna Shanbaug case, Simon bar Giora, George Lincoln Rockwell, Hannie Schaft, and Amelia Bloomer.

Most Popular Social Activists in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1909, Ryszard Siwiec ranks 123. Before him are Bernd Rosemeyer, Gottfried von Cramm, David Frankfurter, Indro Montanelli, Carl Gustaf von Rosen, and Anthony Mamo. After him are Atsushi Nakajima, Barry Goldwater, Gordon Bunshaft, Gerhard Gentzen, Morris Swadesh, and André Cayatte. Among people deceased in 1968, Ryszard Siwiec ranks 91. Before him are Gabriel Hanot, Cornell Woolrich, Camille Huysmans, Ludovico Scarfiotti, Tian Han, and Ramón Menéndez Pidal. After him are Lilian Harvey, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Wes Montgomery, Chester Carlson, Duke Kahanamoku, and Randolph Churchill.

Others Born in 1909

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1968

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In Poland

Among people born in Poland, Ryszard Siwiec ranks 546 out of 1,694. Before him are Otto Finsch (1839), Stefan Żeromski (1864), Helmut Lent (1918), Hans Woellke (1911), Karol Lipiński (1790), and Zawisza Czarny (1379). After him are Ernst Kantorowicz (1895), Beata Tyszkiewicz (1938), Jeremias Benjamin Richter (1762), Robert Remak (1815), Krystyna Skarbek (1908), and Andrzej Panufnik (1914).

Others born in Poland

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among SOCIAL ACTIVISTS In Poland

Among social activists born in Poland, Ryszard Siwiec ranks 10. Before him are Mordechai Anielewicz (1919), Jan Karski (1914), Leopold Trepper (1904), Czesława Kwoka (1943), Franciszek Gajowniczek (1901), and Jan Gotlib Bloch (1836). After him are Franceska Mann (1917), Danuta Wałęsa (1949), and Ernestine Rose (1810).

Polish born Social Activists

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous