He was born in Gluszyna, near Poznan, Western Poland in 1797 and later served briefly with the Prussian army. He tried unsuccessfully to marry a young girl, and then was accused of stealing money from his employer. He moved to London and gave himself the title of Count Strzelecki. In 1834 he went to North America and spent time visiting mineral areas and exploring for minerals. He is said to be the first person to find copper in Canada. In 1836 he travelled along the west coast from Chile to California.