Polish educator, author, and literary historian. He was born in Pidhirts in the Ukraine and the son of Jacob Slovak. After the family relocated to Poland, he studied in community schools, but from the lack of funds, he had to study, with a scholarship, to became a surveyor, which he did for eight years. In 1800, he was appointed a teacher in a private home where he met noted Polish Historian, Tadeusz Czackiego. This was a turning point in his life. From 1806 to 1811 he worked as a teacher of rhetoric and poetry in Krzemieniec Lyceum. It was there he met and, in 1808, married Salome Januszewska, who was from a noble family. She was beautiful, well-educated, the daughter of a high school teacher, and later was become a noted poet. He proudly built a home for her; they had a son a year later. He also taught poetry and eloquence. As a result of a literature competition, in 1811, he was appointed to the Chair Pronunciations and Poetry at the University of Vilnius where he stayed until his death. Leaving their new home, the couple then moved to Vinius in August 1811. In 1812, he became the editor of the newspaper the "Lithuanian Courier" and often wrote the theater reviews or obituaries. Some of his obituaries, which were written the affluent, have stood the test of time and the only documents available for research. In 1814, he suddenly died of tuberculosis, which was the same dreaded disease to take his son years later. At the time of his death, his wife Salome was only 23-years-old and their son of Julius only five. He was the author of works related to the theory of classicism; this was a genre of philosophy, expressing itself in literature, architecture, art, and music. All his articles, letters, and papers were collected posthumously in the "Complete Works", a four-volume publication printed from 1824 to 1826. He wrote articles giving instructions on writing poetry in addition to what other authors had to say about writing, poetry and other literature. The fourth volume was translations of classic writers such as Voltaire, Virgil, Q.Horatius Flaccus, JB Racine: and other foreign writers. With so much of the world's literature written in Latin, English, or French, translating classics to one's native language was very important for the educational system of a nation. He wrote instructions on translating too. In 1805 he wrote the play "Wanda". His son, Julius, became a noted poet, which some consider the second best "National Poet of Poland". Some biographies state Slowacki's birth year, according to his will, as 1773, but the marker states 1772.