Editing Jan Potocki (section)

{{short description|Polish nobleman, writer (creating in French), traveler, politician and historian}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Jan Potocki
| image         = Jan Potocki.PNG
| imagesize     = 230px
| caption       = Jan Potocki by [[Alexander Varnek]]
| birth_date    = {{birth date|df=y|1761|3|8}}
| birth_place   = Pików, [[Podolia]], [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1815|12|23|1761|3|8|df=y}}
| death_place   = Uladivka, [[Vinnytsia]], [[Russian Empire]]
| occupation    = {{hlist|Novelist|ethnologist|politician}}
| nationality   = [[Polish people|Polish]]
| era           = [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]; [[Romanticism]]
| known_for     = ''[[The Manuscript Found in Saragossa]]'' (1805)
| spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Julia Lubomirska]]|1783|1794|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|[[Konstancja Potocka]]|1799}}
}}
| children      = five
| father        = [[Stanisław Potocki (1734–1802)|Józef Potocki]]
| mother        = [[Anna Teresa Ossolińska]]
| signature     = 
| signature_alt =
}}

'''Count Jan Potocki''' ({{IPA|pl|ˈjan pɔˈtɔt͡skʲi}}; 8 March 1761 – 23 December 1815) was a Polish nobleman, [[ethnology|ethnologist]], [[linguistics|linguist]], traveller and author of the [[Enlightenment in Poland|Enlightenment period]], whose life and exploits made him a celebrated figure in [[Poland]]. He is known chiefly for his [[Picaresque novel|picaresque]] novel, ''[[The Manuscript Found in Saragossa]]''.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2025-05-18 |author=Konrad Walewski; John Clute |date=2023 |title=SFE: Potocki, Jan |url=https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/potocki_jan |website=sf-encyclopedia.com}}<!-- auto-translated from Polish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>

Born into affluent Polish nobility, Potocki lived abroad from an early age and was primarily educated in [[Switzerland]]. He frequently visited the salons of [[Paris]] and toured Europe before temporarily returning to [[Poland]] in 1778. As a soldier, he fought in [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] ranks in the [[War of the Bavarian Succession]], and in 1789 was appointed a [[Military engineering|military engineer]] in the Polish army. During his extensive voyages he actively documented prevailing customs, ongoing wars, revolutions and national awakenings, which made him a pioneer of [[travel literature]]. Fascinated by the [[occult]], Potocki studied ancient cultures, rituals and secret societies. Simultaneously, he was a member of parliament and took part in the [[Great Sejm]] shortly before the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] ceased to exist.

In spite of his literary career, Potocki became burdened by mental illness and [[Depression (mood)|melancholy]]. He committed suicide by gunshot in 1815; however, the circumstances of his death remain controversial to this day.