Krzyzanowski was not a "great man" in the sense of someone who shaped and defined policies that altered the course of human events; rather, he was an idealist who possessed the determination and courage of his convictions to risk all that he had in pursuit of the goals he valued. A son of Poland, steeped in its traditions and culture, Wlodzimierz Krzyzanowski was exiled because of his participation in the democratic and patriotic Polish revolt of 1846. He arrived in the New World without fanfare, with neither resources nor knowledge of the English language. Over the course of many difficult years, he rose from the depths of poverty to become a leading citizen in the large ethnic community of Washington, D.C. Krzyzanowski was not a "great man" in the sense of someone who shaped and defined policies that altered the course of human events; rather, he was an idealist who possessed the determination and courage of his convictions to risk all that he had in pursuit of the goals he valued.