Jan Klemens Branicki

Jan Klemens Branicki

Count Jan Klemens (Jan Kazimierz) Branicki (21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown Hetman between 1752 and 1771.

He was the son of the Palatine of Podlaskie Voivodeship 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 Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, Princess Katarzyna Barbara Radziwiłł, that he married on 1 October 1720 in Biała.

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 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 of Kraków (kasztelan krakowski) in 1762. He was the Starost of Brańsk, Bielsko-Biała, Mościsk, Janów Lubelski, Bohusław, Złotoria, Krośno and Jezierzysk (starosta brański, bielski, mościcki, janowski, bohuslawski, złotoryjski, krośnienski, jezierzyski).

Branicki was one of the most powerful and influential magnates in Poland of the 18th century. He was leader of the magnates party. Connected with the Radziwiłł and Potocki families and an opponent of the "Familia".

He sympatized with confederates of the Radom Confederation 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, but was beaten by his brother-in-law Stanisław Poniatowski.

He married firstly at Biała, on 1 October 1720, Princess Katarzyna Barbara Maria Radziwillówna (Biała, 6 December 1693 - Białystok, 16 October 1730), secondly in 1732 and divorced Barbara Szembekówna, and thirdly on 19 November 1748 to Izabella Poniatowska and had no issue. Jennah Karthes de Branicka, belongs, among others, to the last actual descendants of the noble family Branicki.