Karol Olgierd Borchardt

Karol Olgierd Borchardt (25 March 1905 – 20 May 1986) was a Polish writer and a captain in the Polish Merchant Navy. He was twice awarded the Polish Cross of Valor for heroism and survived the sinking of both the m/v Piłsudski and the m/v Chrobry during the Second World War. He wrote maritime-themed short stories and worked in the Polish merchant marine service before and during the Second World War.

Biography Karol Olgierd Borchardt was born on May 25, 1905, in Moscow. He spent his early years in Paris. When it was time for him to begin school, his mother, Maria Borchardt (née Raczkiewiczówna) wished him to have a Polish education. She brought him to Vilnius, which was part of Poland at the time. In 1929 Karol and Karolina welcomed their daughter Danuta.

He later gained recognition as a writer and chronicler of Polish passenger liners.

Borchardt died in 1986. His remains are buried in Gdynia. His daughter would later translate it into English. Two of his books were published posthumously: Pod czerwoną rózą and Kolebka nawigatorów. The Karol Olgierd Borchardt Foundation was founded in the same year and has been a Public Benefit Organisation since 2014. Several schools have been named after him.