Konstanty Tyzenhauz
Count Konstanty Tyzenhauz was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman, naturalist, artist, and founder of ornithology in Poland and Lithuania. He made a large collection of eggs and bird skins at his estate in Pastavy.
Biography
Tyzenhaus was born in Żołudek near Grodno to Count and Maria née Przezdziecka. After education at the University of Vilnius, he took part in the Napoleonic Wars, specifically the French invasion of Russia and the War of the Sixth Coalition. At the time, he was the commander of the 19th Lithuanian Infantry Regiment. It was shortly after the war that he became familiar with taxidermic techniques at the Paris Museum of Natural History. French was a second language in the Polish–Lithuanian aristocracy and his correspondents included Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville. He was made the Officer of the Legion of Honour on August 10, 1813, and he continued to live in Clermont-Ferrand, not returning to Lithuania until the Tsar declared an amnesty for the former soldiers of the Grande Armée.He then took a keen interest in the birds of the Vilnius region and made collections of eggs and skins. He also wrote some books on ornithology. A trained artist, he also illustrated plates for books by Władysław Taczanowski. After his death, the zoological collections were donated by his son Rajnold Tyzenhauz to the Archaeological Commission of Vilnius and became part of the Museum of Antiquities.
In, he married Waleria Wańkowicz, daughter of Antoni Wańkowicz and Anna née Sołtan. They had 5 children: Zbigniew, Helena, Maria Anna Waleria, Władysław and Rajnold.