Count Gurowski was the descendant of a noble family in Poland where he was born in 1805. He studied in German universities and after returning to his country he was, between 1828 and 1830, persecuted for his liberal ideas by Grand Duke Constantine, the elder brother of Nicholas I and vice regent of Poland, who put Gurowski in political prisons at various times. In the conspiracy which in Nov. 1830, expelled the Russians from Poland, Gurowski was one of the leaders, and subsequently acted as an agent of the Polish Revolutionary Government in France and other countries, where he was on intimate terms with prominent revolutionists. In 1849 he came to this country and immediately commenced to advocate anti-slavery. In 1861 he came to Washington, DC.

Gurowski was described as being short in statue, ugly in feature, and disfigured by a pair of green goggles. Known as a rude, rough, Polish bear, he kept a diary in which he ridiculed and abused almost every member of the government. He tried to publish his diary, but the district attorney of Washington had him indicted for libel. Senator Charles Sumner once thew Gurowski out of his house after listening to a torrent of abuse. Gurowski, a State Department employee, was said to be the only man President Lincoln feared would attack him.