Ryszard Kapuściński (Belarus, March 4, 1932 – Warsaw, January 23, 2007) was a journalist, historian, writer, essayist and poet. He studied history at the University of Warsaw, but eventually went into journalism. He contributed to Time, The New York Times, La Jornada and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. From 1962, he combined his career as a journalist with literary activities and teaching at several universities. Between 1954 and 1981 he was a member of the Polish United Workers’ Party. In 1964, the Polish Press Agency appointed him as its only foreign correspondent. He did that job until 1981. He travelled to developing countries and covered wars, coups and revolutions in Asia, Europe and America.