Tadeusz Rejtan

Tadeusz Rejtan
Tadeusz Rejtan, anonymous painting
Coat of arms	Rejtan
Noble family	Rejtan (Reytan)
Father	Dominik Rejtan
Mother	Teresa Wołodkowicz
Born	(1742-08-20)August 20, 1742 Hruszówka
Died	August 8, 1780(1780-08-08) (aged 37) Hruszówka

Tadeusz Reytan (or Tadeusz Rejtan, rarely Reyten; 20 August 1742 – 8 August 1780) was a Polish nobleman. He was a member of the Polish Sejm from the constituency of Nowogródek (today Navahrudak, Belarus). Rejtan is remembered for a dramatic gesture he made in September 1773, as a deputy of the Partition Sejm. There, Rejtan tried to prevent the legalization of the first partition of Poland, a scene that has been immortalized in the painting Rejtan by Jan Matejko. He has been the subject of many other art works, and is a symbol of patriotism in Belarus and Poland. Despite his efforts, the partition of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was legalized soon afterwards.

Tadeusz Rejtan was born on 20 August 1742 in Hruszówka (now, Hrushauka, Belarus) (date as given in the Polish Biographical Dictionary, some other sources give other dates). He was the son of a minor, but relatively wealthy noble, Dominik Rejtan, podkomorzy of Nowogródek (today Navahrudak, Belarus) and Teresa Wołodkowicz. He was likely the oldest of five brothers. His brother, Michał, would come to hold the position of pisarz (scribe) of Nowogródek. His grandfather, also named Michał, was the skarbnik (treasurer) of Mazyr. The family had been aligned to the powerful Radziwiłł family, and Tadeusz would also pledge his allegiance to them.