The indomitable Ignacy Jan Paderewski was born on November 6, 1860. He was one of the most extraordinary personalities in the history of music. He achieved international fame as a virtuoso pianist, became a celebrated composer, and ultimately served as Prime Minister of Poland. Paderewski became one of the most celebrated pianists of his generation, and toured extensively throughout Europe, America, Australia, and New Zealand. But perhaps the most remarkable aspect of his life was his transition from concert pianist to national political leader. He used his international musical celebrity to advance the cause of Polish independence by signing the Treaty of Versailles on behalf of Poland in 1919. "Only Chopin was not forbidden us. And yet Chopin contains everything that we were forbidden." This profoundly expresses how Chopin's music became a repository of Polish national identity when Poland itself had disappeared from the political map.