Czech personalities

Charles IV.
-member of the House of Luxemburg
-father John of Bohemia
-mother Elisabeth of Bohemia
-born Wenceslaus
-he chose the name Charles in honour of his uncle king Charles IV. of
France
-recieved French education
-literate and fluent in 5 languages (Latin, Czech, German, French, Italian)
-king of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor
-ruled the Czech countries in 14th century
-his reign is remembered as the Golden Age of Bohemia
-Prague became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire
-published the Golden Bull
-to regulate the election of the king
-wives Blanche of Valois (Blanka z Valois)
- Anna of Bavaria (Anna Falck)
- Anna von Schweidnitz (Anna Svdnick)
- Elizabeth of Pomerania (Albta Pomoansk)
-established the New Town of Prague
-built Charles Bridge, Karltejn Castle
-1348 founded the University
-the 1st University in central Europe
-established Kaperk, Radyn
-Charles Square is named after him
Tom Garrrigue Masaryk
-politician, sociologist and philosopher
-studied grammar school in Brno, later University of Viena
-was appointed Professor of Philosophy in the University of Prague
-founded Athenaeum
-magazine devoted to Czech culture and science
-wrote several books
-married Charlotte Garrigue
-the first president of Czechoslovakia 1918-1935
-re-elected as president three times
-resigned in 1935 because of the old age and poor health
-under his watch Czechoslovakia became the strongest democracy in
central Europe
Karel apek
-novelist, journalist, playwright, essayist, literary reviewer
-writer of the early 20th century
-renowned for his excellent work with the Czech language
-the youngest of three siblings
-studied in Prague at Charles University
-began his career as a journalist

-editor for Nrodn listy

-best known for his science-fiction books
-novel War with the Newth
-play R.U.R.
-wrote several politically charged works
-anti-fascist, anti-militarist works
-The White Disease
-detective stories, fairy tales
-Stories from a pocket, Gardeners year (short essays)
-Letters from England (travel book)
-introduced the word robot
-helped to create the Czechoslovak Pen club
-Friday Men garden parties for leading Czech intellectuals
-developed close relationship with T.G.M.
-Talks with T.G.M.
Otto Wichterle
-20th century
-a Czech chemist
-best known for his invention of modern soft contact lenses
-studied at the Chemical and Technological Faculty of the Czech Technical
University
-scientific work
-he led the technical preparation of plastics in Zln
-invented the procedure to make nylon (the first Czechoslovak
synthetic fibre)
-in 1961 he succeeded in producing the first hydrogel contact lenses
-in 1993 the asteroid (nr.3899) was named after him
Emil Ztopek
-Czechoslovak long-distance runner
-considered to be one of the greatest runners of the 20 th century
-at the age of 16 he participated in his first running race
-was chosen by a sports coach
-finished 2nd
-after that joined the athletic club
-he developed his own training program
-won 3 gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Helsinki in 1952
-took part in a marathon also won
-known for his brutally tough training
-trained in any weather
-died in 2000 after a long illness
Bedich Smetana
-19th century
-a Czech composer
-regarded as the father of Czech music
-internationally known for his opera The Bartered Bride, symphonic cycle
My Homeland

-gifted as a pianist
-his first public performance gave at the age of 6
-studied music in Prague
-left for Sweden
-teacher and choirmaster
-in 1860s returned back to Prague
-became completely deaf
-still had been composing
Tom Baa
-a Czech entrepreneur
-his family had a long history of shoemaking
-founder of the Baa Shoes company
-established the organisation in Zln in 1894
-by the 1930s under his leadership his company and Czechoslovakia were
the worlds leading
footwear exporters
-with modern production and long distance retailing modernized the
shoemaking industry