Jan Zamoyski

Jan Zamoyski (1542–1605) was a Polish nobleman, statesman and magnate, educated abroad and awarded a law doctorate at Padua. Returning to Poland in 1565, he rose through royal office to become Grand Chancellor of the Crown in 1578 and Great Hetman in 1581. After the Jagiellon dynasty died out in 1572, he helped secure all nobles the right to vote in royal elections.

A key adviser to Stephen Báthory, he led Polish forces in the Livonian campaigns, founded the city of Zamość and its academy, and in 1588 defeated the Habsburg claimant Maximilian III at Byczyna. He died on 3 June 1605.