Quick Facts
Biography
Franciszek Ptak (30 August 1859 – 29 July 1936) was Polish innkeeper, peasant movement activist and member of Diet of Galicia.
Biography
Franciszek Ptak was the son of Antoni Ptak, a landowner, and Salomea Włodek. He graduated from a peasant school, but he also was a self-taught.
He was a well-known innkeeper in Bieńczyce country near Kraków. In 1908, he organised (together with Władysław Bogacki) a famous Cracovian wedding in Wien to honor emperor of Austria Franz Joseph I. Ptak's daughter Zofia was a bride, painter Henryk Uziembło was the groom, and Wojciech Kossak played a part of a starost.
Ptak began his political activity in 1890s. From 1898–1902 he was an editor of the paper Obrona Ludu (The Defend of the People). In 1907 he was chosen to be a member of the Head Council of Polish People's Party. On 25 February 1908, he was elected for a member of Diet of Galicia. This event was mentioned in Stanisław Wyspiański's drama The Wedding. On December 13, 1913, after a split in the party, he became a member of Polish People's Party "Left". In 1924 he decided to join Polish People's Party "Piast".
He was married to Marcjanna Szafrańska (7 January 1864 – 4 August 1947). They had 5 sons and 7 daughters. Their grandson, Włodzimierz Ptak, is an immunologist.
One of the streets in Kraków, in the district Bieńczyce, was named after Ptak.