Czesław Miłosz was a renowned Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat, born on June 30, 1911, in the village of Šeteniai, Kovno Governorate, Russian Empire, now Kėdainiai district, Kaunas County, Lithuania.
Miłosz's family was prominent, tracing its lineage to the 13th century. His maternal grandfather, Zygmunt Kunat, was a descendant of a Polish family that owned an estate in Krasnogruda, present-day Poland. Miłosz's maternal grandmother, Jozefa, was a descendant of the noble Syruć family, which had Lithuanian origins.
Miłosz's paternal grandfather, Artur Miłosz, fought in the 1863 January Uprising for Polish independence. His grandmother, Stanisława, was a doctor's daughter from Riga, Latvia, and a member of the German-Polish von Mohl family.
Miłosz's father, Aleksander, was born and educated in Riga, while his mother, Weronika, was born in Šeteniai and educated in Kraków.
