Collection: Thomas Cajetan of Hungary

Tomasz Kajetan Węgierski, (born 1755 in Grabowiec in Podlasie, died 11 April 1787 in Marseille) – Polish poet of the Stanisławów era, satirist and traveller. From around 1764 he studied at the Collegium Nobilium in Warsaw, run by the Piarists. Among others, under the supervision of Adam Naruszewicz. In 1771 he returned to Podlasie. During this period he visited the Białystok court of the king's sister, Izabella Branicka. Two years later he returned to Warsaw, where he took up (probably) work in one of the capital's offices. In the spring of 1775 he received a position as a clerk in the Department of Justice of the Permanent Council, and shortly afterwards he was given the title of chamberlain of His Royal Majesty. His career faltered in November 1776, when, at the age of 21, he anonymously published a lampoon entitled Portraits of five Elizabeths , describing unfavorably the hetman Izabella Branicka (the king's sister), Izabela Czartoryska, Izabela Lubomirska, Elżbieta Potocka and Elżbieta Sapieżyna – probably the most powerful women in Poland at that time. It was quickly established that the author was Tomasz Węgierski. Influential women felt offended, and the work itself was publicly burned in the market square by the executioner.

In December 1777 he lost his position in the Department of Justice, the support of powerful friends, and shortly afterwards he was sentenced to a fine and 7 days of arrest in the upper marshal's tower. After serving his sentence, Tomasz Kajetan spent some time at the court of Aleksandra Ogińska in Siedlce. In 1779 he set off on a journey across Europe, reaching Italy in October of that year. In 1783 he left for the United States via Martinique. In 1784 he returned to Europe and spent most of his time in Great Britain. He earned his living playing cards. Planning to return to Poland with the support of King Stanisław August, he died in Marseilles at the age of just 31.