Famous people from Czech Republic
Here is a list of famous people from Czech Republic. Curious if anybody from Czech Republic made it our most famous people in the world list? Read the aformentioned article in order to find out.
Ivan Lendl
Tennis Tournament Champion
Ivan Lendl is a former world no.1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, he became a United States citizen in 1992. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He has been described as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl's game relied particularly on strength and heavy topspin from the baseline and helped usher in the modern era of "power tennis". He himself described his game as "hitting hot", a relentless all-court game that was coming to dominate in tennis. Lendl captured eight Grand Slam singles titles. He competed in 19 Grand Slam singles finals, a record surpassed by Roger Federer in 2009. He reached at least one Grand Slam final for 11 consecutive years, a record shared with Pete Sampras, with the male primacy of eight consecutive finals in a Grand Slam tournament. Before the formation of the ATP, Lendl reached a record 12 year-end championships. He won two WCT Finals titles and five Masters Grand Prix titles, with the record of nine consecutive finals. He also won a record 22 Championship Series titles, the precursors to the current ATP Masters 1000.
Martina Navratilova
Tennis Tournament Champion
Martina Navratilova is a retired Czech American tennis player and coach. Billie Jean King, former World No. 1 player, said in 2006 that Navratilova is "the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who's ever lived." Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles, and 10 major mixed doubles titles. She reached the Wimbledon singles final 12 times, including nine consecutive years from 1982 through 1990, and won the women's singles title at Wimbledon a record nine times. She and King each won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles a record she shares with Margaret Court and Doris Hart. She holds the open era record for most singles titles and doubles titles. She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era and three of the six longest winning streaks in the women's open era. Navratilova, Margaret Court and Maureen Connolly share the record for the most consecutive major singles titles. Navratilova reached 11 consecutive major singles finals, second all-time to Steffi Graf's 13. In women's doubles, Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 109 consecutive matches and won all four major titles in 1984, i.e. the Grand Slam. Also the pair set an all-time record of 79 titles together and tied Louise Brough Clapp's and Margaret Osborne duPont's record of 20 major women's doubles titles as a team. In addition she won the season ending WTA Tour Championships a record 8 times and made the finals a record 14 times and won the doubles title a record 11 times. Navratilova is the only person of either sex to have won eight different tournaments at least seven times. Navratilova is one of only five tennis players all-time to win a multiple slam set in two disciplines, matching Margaret Court, Roy Emerson, Frank Sedgman and Serena Williams.
Antonín Dvořák
Art song Artist
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer. Following the nationalist example of Bedřich Smetana, Dvořák frequently employed features of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák's own style has been described as 'the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them'. Born in Nelahozeves, Dvořák displayed his musical gifts at an early age. His first surviving work, Forget-Me-Not Polka in C was written possibly as early as 1854.He graduated from the organ school in Prague in 1859. In the 1860s, he played as a violist in the Bohemian Provisional Theater Orchestra and taught piano lessons. In 1873, he married Anna Čermáková, and left the orchestra to pursue another career as a church organist. He wrote several compositions during this period. Dvořák's music attracted the interest of Johannes Brahms, who assisted his career; he was also supported by the critic Eduard Hanslick. After the premiere of his cantata Stabat Mater, Dvořák visited the United Kingdom and became popular there; his Seventh Symphony was written for London. After a brief conducting stint in Russia in 1890, Dvořák was appointed as a professor at the Prague Conservatory in 1891. In 1892, Dvořák moved to the United States and became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City, where he also composed. However, a salary dispute, along with increasing recognition in Europe and an onset of homesickness made him decide to return to Bohemia. From 1895 until his death, he composed mainly operatic and chamber music. At his death, he left several unfinished works.
Tomáš Berdych
Tennis Player
Tomáš Berdych is a Czech professional tennis player. His most notable achievement was reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, causing consecutive upsets by defeating top seed and six-time champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, and World No. 3 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. In the final, he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He also reached the semifinals of the 2010 French Open, defeating fourth seed Andy Murray in straight sets in the fourth round, and dropping no sets until his loss in the semifinals to Robin Söderling, and the 2012 US Open where he defeated World No. 1 Roger Federer again at the quarterfinal stage, before losing to eventual champion Andy Murray in the semifinals. He is the second player to defeat Roger Federer multiple times in Grand Slam events before the semifinal stage. He is one of few active players to have reached the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slams. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005. Berdych has since reached the finals of the Miami Masters in 2010 and the Madrid Open in 2012, losing to Andy Roddick and Roger Federer respectively. He reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 5 in August 2013.
Jaromír Jágr
Ice Hockey Right winger
Jaromír Jágr is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. He formerly played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins; serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers. After leaving the Rangers, he played for three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League with Avangard Omsk before returning to the NHL with the Flyers. He is the most productive European-born player who ever played in the National Hockey League and he is considered one of the greatest players of all-time. Jágr was the fifth overall selection in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He won consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1991 and 1992 seasons with the Penguins. He has won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL Scoring Champion five times, received the Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association three times, and won a Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player, and was a finalist four times. Jágr and teammate Martin Brodeur are the only two players drafted in 1990 who are still active players in any league.
Petra Kvitová
Tennis Player
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed shots and variety, she has won eleven career singles titles. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 2 in October 2011, and is currently ranked world no. 7. Her current clothing sponsor is Nike. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles beating Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka respectively, becoming the first Grand Slam event winner of either gender born in the 1990s, and the third player to win the WTA Championships on her first attempt. She has also reached the semifinals of the 2012 Australian Open and the 2012 French Open, losing on both occasions to Maria Sharapova.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Novelist
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke — better known as Rainer Maria Rilke — was a Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist, "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets", writing in both verse and highly lyrical prose. Several critics have described Rilke's work as inherently "mystical". His writings include one novel, several collections of poetry, and several volumes of correspondence in which he invokes haunting images that focus on the difficulty of communion with the ineffable in an age of disbelief, solitude, and profound anxiety. These deeply existential themes tend to position him as a transitional figure between the traditional and the modernist writers. Rilke was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, travelled extensively throughout Europe and North Africa, including Russia, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and in his later years settled in Switzerland—settings that were key to the genesis and inspiration for many of his poems. While Rilke is most known for his contributions to German literature, over 400 poems were originally written in French and dedicated to the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Among English-language readers, his best-known works include the poetry collections Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus, the semi-autobiographical novel The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, and a collection of ten letters that was published after his death under the title Letters to a Young Poet. In the later 20th century, his work has found new audiences through its use by New Age theologians and self-help authors, and through frequent quoting in television programs, books and motion pictures. In the United States, Rilke is one of the more popular, best-selling poets—along with 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi and 20th-century Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran.
Gregor Mendel
Scientist
Gregor Johann Mendel was a German-speaking Silesian scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance. The profound significance of Mendel's work was not recognized until the turn of the 20th century, when the independent rediscovery of these laws initiated the modern science of genetics.
Jana Novotná
Tennis Tournament Champion
Jana Novotná is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998 and was runner-up in three previous Grand Slam tournaments. Novotná also won 12 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
Oskar Schindler
Politician
Oskar Schindler was an ethnic German industrialist, German spy, and member of the Nazi party who is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic respectively. He is the subject of the 1982 novel Schindler's Ark, and the subsequent 1993 film Schindler's List, which reflected his life as an opportunist initially motivated by profit who came to show extraordinary initiative, tenacity, and dedication in order to save the lives of his Jewish employees. Schindler grew up in Zwittau, Moravia, and worked in several trades until he joined the Abwehr, the intelligence service of Nazi Germany, in 1936. He joined the Nazi Party in 1939. Prior to the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1938, he collected information on railways and troop movements for the German government. He was arrested for espionage by the Czech government but was released under the terms of the Munich Agreement in 1938. Schindler continued to collect information for the Nazis, working in Poland in 1939 prior to the invasion of that country at the start of World War II.
Radek Štěpánek
Tennis Player
Radek Štěpánek is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 8 and best doubles ranking is World No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements to date have been reaching two Masters 1000 event finals, the quarter-final of Wimbledon in 2006, and being part of the Czech Republic's Davis Cup winning team in 2012. In doubles, he won his first major title at the 2012 Australian Open, along with Indian partner Leander Paes, defeating the Bryan Brothers in the final. Paes and Stepanek also won the Men's Doubles title at the 2013 US Open, defeating the Bryan Brothers in the semi-finals and Bruno Soares and Alexander Peya in the finals.
Petr Čech
Soccer
Petr Čech is a Czech footballer, who plays for Chelsea and the Czech Republic as a goalkeeper. Čech previously played for Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. He was voted into the all-star team of Euro 2004 after helping his country reach the semi-finals. Čech also received the individual award of Best Goalkeeper in the 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons of the UEFA Champions League. In addition, he was named in the FIFPro and UEFA Champions League teams of the season in 2006. He is considered to be one of the best and most respected goalkeepers of his generation. Čech holds a number of goalkeeping records, including the Premier League record for fewest appearances required to reach 100 clean sheets, having done so in 180 league appearances. He also holds a Czech professional league record of not conceding a goal in 903 competitive minutes. In addition, he has a club record at his former club Sparta Prague, having gone 928 minutes unbeaten in all competitions in 2001–02, when his unbeaten run in Czech league competition was combined with his performances in the UEFA Champions League. During the 2004–05 season, Čech went 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal – a Premier League record, until it was surpassed by Edwin van der Sar of Manchester United on 27 January 2009. Čech also won the Golden Glove in both the 2004–05 and 2009–10 seasons. As of 21 September 2013, Čech has kept 145 clean sheets for Chelsea in the Premier League.
Edmund Husserl
Philosopher
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a German philosopher who established the field of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day. He elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic. Not limited to empiricism, but believing that experience is the source of all knowledge, he worked on a method of phenomenological reduction by which a subject may come to know directly an essence. Although born into a Jewish family, Husserl was baptized as a Lutheran in 1886. He studied mathematics under Karl Weierstrass and Leo Königsberger, and philosophy under Franz Brentano and Carl Stumpf. Husserl himself taught philosophy as a Privatdozent at Halle from 1887, then as professor, first at Göttingen from 1901, then at Freiburg from 1916 until he retired in 1928. Thereafter he gave two notable lectures: at Paris in 1929, and at Prague in 1935. The notorious 1933 race laws of the Nazi regime took away his academic standing and privileges. Following an illness, he died at Freiburg in 1938.
Milan Kundera
Playwright
Milan Kundera is the Czech Republic's most recognized living writer. Of Czech origin, he has lived in exile in France since 1975, having become a naturalised citizen in 1981. He "sees himself as a French writer and insists his work should be studied as French literature and classified as such in book stores." Kundera's best-known work is The Unbearable Lightness of Being. His books were banned by the Communist regimes of Czechoslovakia until the downfall of the regime in the Velvet Revolution of 1989. He lives virtually incognito and rarely speaks to the media. A perennial contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature, he has been nominated on several occasions.
Leoš Janáček
Composer
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák. His later, mature works incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music in a modern, highly original synthesis, first evident in the opera Jenůfa, which was premiered in 1904 in Brno. The success of Jenůfa at Prague in 1916 gave Janáček access to the world's great opera stages. Janáček's later works are his most celebrated. They include the symphonic poem Sinfonietta, the oratorio Glagolitic Mass, the rhapsody Taras Bulba, two string quartets, other chamber works and operas. Along with Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana, he is considered one of the most important Czech composers.
Alfred Brendel
Classical Artist
Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, poet, artist, and author.
Václav Havel
Playwright
Václav Havel was a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. Havel was the ninth and last president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic. He wrote more than 20 plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally. Havel was voted 4th in Prospect magazine's 2005 global poll of the world's top 100 intellectuals. At the time of his death he was Chairman of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation. He was the founder of the VIZE 97 Foundation and the principal organizer of the Forum 2000 annual global conference. Havel was one of the signatories of the Charter 77 manifesto, a founding signatory, together with Joachim Gauck, of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism, and a council member of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Havel received many recognitions, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the Order of Canada, the freedom medal of the Four Freedoms Award, the Ambassador of Conscience Award and the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award. The 2012–2013 academic year at the College of Europe was named in his honour.
Pavel Nedvěd
Soccer Midfielder
Pavel Nedvěd is a retired Czech footballer, who played as a midfielder. He is one of the most successful Czech players to emerge from the newly formed Czech Republic, winning numerous accolades with Lazio and Juventus, including the last ever Cup Winners' Cup. Nedvěd was a key member of the Czech Republic team which reached the final of UEFA Euro 1996, during which he garnered much international attention. He was later given the international captaincy. Well known for his energy and tireless runs, refined dribbling, as well as his powerful shooting and goal scoring abilities, Nedvěd was nicknamed Furia Ceca by Italian fans and The Czech cannon in English-speaking media. Winning the Ballon d'Or as the European Footballer of the Year in 2003, Nedvěd became only the second Czech player to receive this honour, and the first since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. He was also the recipient of the second Golden Foot award in 2004. Throughout his career, Nedvěd won numerous awards, including being named Czech Footballer of the Year four times and receiving the Golden Ball six times. Nedvěd retired after the 2008–09 season after 19 years as a professional. He played 500 league matches at club level, scoring 110 goals, and was capped 91 times for the Czech Republic, scoring 18 times.
John Amos Comenius
Scientist
John Amos Comenius was a Czech-speaking Moravian teacher, educator and writer. He served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica Magna. He is considered the father of modern education. Comenius was the innovator who first introduced pictorial textbooks, written in native language instead of Latin, applied effective teaching based on the natural gradual growth from simple to more comprehensive concepts, supported lifelong learning and development of logical thinking by moving from dull memorization, presented and supported the idea of equal opportunity for impoverished children, opened doors to education for women, made instruction universal and practical. He lived and worked in many different countries in Europe, including Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Transylvania, the Holy Roman Empire, England, the Netherlands and Royal Hungary.
Madeleine Albright
Politician
Madeleine Korbelová Albright was the first woman to become the United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997. Albright currently serves as a Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. She holds a PhD from Columbia University and numerous honorary degrees. In May 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President Barack Obama. Secretary Albright also serves as a Director on the Board of the Council on Foreign Relations. Albright is fluent in English, French, Russian, and Czech; she speaks and reads Polish and Serbo-Croatian as well.
Silvia Saint
Pornographic actor
Silvia Saint is a Czech former pornographic actress. In 1996, she was Penthouse Pet of the Year in the Czech edition of the magazine, and between 1997 and 2001, she appeared in over 300 pornographic movies.
Tom Stoppard
Playwright
Sir Tom Stoppard, OM, CBE, FRSL is a Czech-born British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. He co-wrote the screenplays for Brazil and Shakespeare in Love, and has received one Academy Award and four Tony Awards. Themes of human rights, censorship and political freedom pervade his work along with exploration of linguistics and philosophy. Stoppard has been a key playwright of the National Theatre and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. In 1939, Stoppard left Czechoslovakia as a child refugee, fleeing imminent Nazi occupation. He settled with his family in Britain after the war, in 1946. After being educated at schools in Nottingham and Yorkshire, Stoppard became a journalist, a drama critic and then, in 1960, a playwright. He has been married twice, to Josie Ingle and Miriam Stoppard, and has two sons from each marriage, one of whom is actor Ed Stoppard.
Milan Baroš
Soccer
Milan Baroška Dušanka is a Czech footballer who is currently playing for Antalyaspor as a striker. Baroš was the winner of the Golden Boot at UEFA Euro 2004, where he scored five goals. In 2005, he was a member of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. In the 2008–09 season, Baroš scored 20 goals in the Turkish Süper Lig, becoming the season's top scorer. He has previously played for clubs including Liverpool, Aston Villa, Lyon and Galatasaray.
Jan Hus
Philosopher
Jan Hus, often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague. After John Wycliffe, the theorist of ecclesiastical Reformation, Hus is considered the first Church reformer, as he lived before Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli. He was burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church, including those on ecclesiology, the Eucharist, and other theological topics. Hus was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century, and his teachings had a strong influence on the states of Europe, most immediately in the approval of a reformist Bohemian religious denomination, and, more than a century later, on Martin Luther himself. After his death, between 1420 and 1431, followers of Hus's religious teachings rebelled against their Roman Catholic rulers and defeated five consecutive papal crusades in what became known as the Hussite Wars. A century later, as many as 90% of inhabitants of the Czech lands were non-Catholic and followed the teachings of Hus and his successors.
Lukáš Rosol
Tennis Player
Lukáš Rosol is a Czech professional tennis player. Rosol competes on the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP World Tour, both in singles and doubles. Rosol was coached by former Czech player, 1999 US Open quarterfinalist Ctislav Doseděl. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 33, achieved in 29 April 2013. His first notable victory was against World No. 8 Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 French Open, who he defeated in five sets in the second round a year after Melzer had reached the semi-final. A year later, Rosol rose to fame after defeating World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon to achieve one of the biggest upsets in the history of Grand Slam tennis. Rosol has had sustained success since then having played an integral part in the Czech Republic's Davis Cup winning team in 2012, and winning his first tour-level title in April 2013. Rosol is also noteworthy for having played in the longest ATP doubles match ever, alongside Tomáš Berdych, defeating Marco Chiudinelli and Stanislas Wawrinka in the 1st round of the 2013 Davis Cup. The match was played on 2 February 2013, lasting 7 hours, 2 minutes. It was the second longest ATP match ever.
Miloš Forman
Film Director
Jan Tomáš Forman, known as Miloš Forman, is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, and professor, who until 1968 had lived and worked primarily in the former Czechoslovakia. Forman was one of the most important directors of the Czechoslovak New Wave. His 1967 film The Fireman's Ball, on the face of it a naturalistic representation of an ill-fated social event in a provincial town, has been viewed by both movie scholars and the then-authorities in Czechoslovakia as a biting satire on East European Communism, which resulted in its being banned for many years in Forman's home country. Since Forman left Czechoslovakia, two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, have acquired particular renown, both gaining him an Academy Award for Best Director. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was the second to win all five major Academy Awards following It Happened One Night in 1934, an accomplishment not repeated until 1991 by The Silence of the Lambs. He was also nominated for a Best Director Oscar for The People vs. Larry Flynt. He has also won Golden Globe, Cannes, Berlinale, BAFTA, Cesar, David di Donatello, European Film Academy, and Czech Lion awards.
Karel Gott
Pop Artist
Karel Gott is a Czech Schlager singer, and an amateur painter. He is considered as the most successful male singer in former Czechoslovakia and currently in the Czech Republic; he was elected the Most Favorite Male Singer in the annual national poll Český slavík in total thirty-six times. He also gained widespread fame in the German-speaking countries.
Alphonse Mucha
Painting Artist
Alfons Maria Mucha, often known in English and French as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, known best for his distinct style. He produced many paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs.
Joseph Schumpeter
Economist
Joseph Alois Schumpeter was an Austrian American economist and political scientist. He briefly served as Finance Minister of Austria in 1919. One of the most influential economists of the 20th century, Schumpeter popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.
Kurt Gödel
Mathematician
Kurt Friedrich Gödel was an Austrian, and later American, logician, mathematician, and philosopher. Considered with Aristotle and Frege to be one of the most significant logicians in human history, Gödel made an immense impact upon scientific and philosophical thinking in the 20th century, a time when others such as Bertrand Russell, A. N. Whitehead, and David Hilbert were pioneering the use of logic and set theory to understand the foundations of mathematics. Gödel published his two incompleteness theorems in 1931 when he was 25 years old, one year after finishing his doctorate at the University of Vienna. The first incompleteness theorem states that for any self-consistent recursive axiomatic system powerful enough to describe the arithmetic of the natural numbers, there are true propositions about the naturals that cannot be proved from the axioms. To prove this theorem, Gödel developed a technique now known as Gödel numbering, which codes formal expressions as natural numbers. He also showed that neither the axiom of choice nor the continuum hypothesis can be disproved from the accepted axioms of set theory, assuming these axioms are consistent. The former result opened the door for mathematicians to assume the axiom of choice in their proofs. He also made important contributions to proof theory by clarifying the connections between classical logic, intuitionistic logic, and modal logic.
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV, born Wenceslaus, was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor. He was the eldest son and heir of King John of Bohemia, who died at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346. Charles inherited the County of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of Bohemia from his father. On 2 September 1347, Charles was crowned King of Bohemia. On 11 July 1346, prince-electors elected him King of the Romans in opposition to Emperor Louis IV. Charles was crowned on 26 November 1346 in Bonn. After his opponent died, he was re-elected in 1349 and crowned King of the Romans. In 1355 he was crowned King of Italy on 6 January and Holy Roman Emperor on 5 April. With his coronation as King of Burgundy, delayed until 4 June 1365, he became the personal ruler of all the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire.
Klára Zakopalová
Tennis Player
Klára Zakopalová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born and still lives in Prague.
Petr Korda
Tennis Tournament Champion
Petr Korda is a Czech former professional tennis player. As of 2013, Korda is the last man from the Czech Republic to win a Grand Slam singles title, having won the Australian Open in 1998.
Lucie Šafářová
Tennis Player
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno. Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles, three doubles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en route. She has reached twelve singles finals: Estoril, 's-Hertogenbosch, Forest Hills in 2005; Gold Coast in 2006; Open GDF Suez, Paris in 2007; Forest Hills in 2008; Challenge Bell, Quebec City in 2009 and 2013; Open GDF Suez, Paris in 2010; BMW Malaysian Open, Kuala Lumpur and Danish Open, Copenhagen in 2011, and the Family Circle Cup, Charleston in 2012. She is ranked world no. 41 as of 28 August 2013.
Tomáš Rosický
Soccer
Tomáš Rosický is a Czech footballer who plays for Arsenal and captains the Czech national team. He moved to Arsenal in 2006 from Borussia Dortmund. He has a brother named Jiří who was also a footballer. He was nicknamed "the little Mozart" for his ability to orchestrate the midfield. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has described him as a player with remarkable vision, precision and first touch. He was born in Prague and started his career at his hometown club AC Sparta Praha.
Karolína Kurková
Supermodel
Karolína Kurková, also Karolina Kurkova, is a Czech model, best known as a former Victoria's Secret Angel, and actress. Mario Testino praised the "proportions of her body and her face, as well as her energy level", which he said "ma[de] her a model who could fit almost into any moment". Vogue editor Anna Wintour called her the "next supermodel". Kurková is among the world's top-earning models, having earned an estimated $5 million in the year 2007. She placed 6th in the Forbes annual list of the highest-earning models.
Roman Kreuziger
Professional Road Racing Cyclist
Roman Kreuziger is a Czech professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team Team Saxo-Tinkoff. Kreuziger is an all-rounder, with climbing and time trial abilities, becoming a contender for the General classification of stage races. He is also considered one of the biggest talents of the sport after winning the 2004 Junior Road World Championships and the 2008 Tour de Suisse at the age of 22. Next year, he won the 2009 Tour de Romandie and in 2013, he was the victor of the Amstel Gold Race. His father, Roman Kreuziger Sr., was also a bicycle racer who won the Österreich Rundfahrt in 1991 and the Cyclocross Junior World Championships in 1983.
Michal Kadlec
Soccer
Michal Kadlec is a Czech footballer who plays for Fenerbahçe. His father Miroslav was a former Czechoslovakia footballer who played eight years in the Bundesliga in Germany, due to which Michal spent his childhood there.
Andrea Hlaváčková
Tennis Player
Andrea Hlaváčková is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest singles ranking is World No. 58, which she reached on 10 September 2012, and her highest doubles ranking is World No. 3, reached on 22 October 2012. In her career, Hlaváčková has won 14 WTA doubles titles, as well as 17 ITF doubles titles and seven ITF singles titles. Hlaváčková won the doubles title at the 2011 French Open, when she was paired with Lucie Hradecká. She was part of the winning Czech team in Fed Cup 2012. She also won the mixed doubles title at the 2013 US Open paired with Max Mirnyi and the doubles title 2013 US Open with Lucie Hradecká. Hlaváčková's elder sister is retired tennis player Jana Hlaváčková.
Dominik Hašek
Professional Ice hockey Player
Dominik Hašek is a retired Czech ice hockey goaltender. In his 16-season National Hockey League career, he played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators. During his years in Buffalo, he became one of the league's finest goaltenders, earning him the nickname "The Dominator". His strong play has been credited with establishing European goaltenders in a league widely dominated by North Americans. Hašek was one of the league's most successful goaltenders of the 1990s and early 2000s. From 1993 to 2001, he won six Vezina Trophies. In 1998 he won his second consecutive Hart Memorial Trophy, becoming the first goaltender to win the award multiple times. During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he led the Czech national ice hockey team to its first and only Olympic gold medal. The feat made him a popular figure in his home country and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him "the best player in the game". While with the Red Wings in 2002, Hašek became the first European starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup. In the process, he set a record for shutouts in a postseason year.
Helena Vondráčková
Pop Artist
Helena Vondráčková is a Czech singer whose career has spanned five decades.
Helena Suková
Tennis Tournament Champion
Helena Suková is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. During her career, she won 14 Grand Slam titles, 9 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a four-time Grand Slam singles runner-up and won 10 singles titles and 69 doubles titles.
Hana Mandlíková
Tennis Tournament Champion
Hana Mandlíková is a former Czech professional tennis player from Czechoslovakia and later Australia. During her career, she won four Grand Slam singles titles – two at the Australian Open, one at the French Open, and one at the US Open. She was the runner-up at four Grand Slam singles events and won one Grand Slam women's doubles title, the US Open in 1989 with Martina Navratilova. Beginning with the 1980 US Open and extending through Wimbledon in 1981, Mandlíková played in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals. Struggling with injuries and a lack of confidence, Mandlíková retired at the relatively early age of 28.
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber
Composer
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber von Bibern was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Born in the small Bohemian town of Wartenberg, Biber worked at Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his Kroměříž employer and settled in Salzburg. He remained there for the rest of his life, publishing much of his music but apparently seldom, if ever, giving concert tours. Biber was one of the most important composers for the violin in the history of the instrument. His technique allowed him to easily reach the 6th and 7th positions, employ multiple stops in intricate polyphonic passages, and explore the various possibilities of scordatura tuning. He also wrote one of the earliest known pieces for solo violin, the monumental passacaglia of the Mystery Sonatas. During Biber's lifetime, his music was known and imitated throughout Europe. In the late 18th century he was named the best violin composer of the 17th century by music historian Charles Burney. In the late 20th century Biber's music, especially the Mystery Sonatas, enjoyed a renaissance. Today, it is widely performed and recorded.
Ferdinand Porsche
Automotive Designer
Ferdinand Porsche was an automotive engineer and honorary Doctor of Engineering. He is best known for creating the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle, the Volkswagen Beetle, and the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, as well as the first of many Porsche automobiles. Porsche designed the 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen, which was the first race car with mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Known in business circles as the "great engineer", he made a number of contributions to advanced German tank designs: Tiger I, Tiger II, and the Elefant as well as the super-heavy Panzer VIII Maus tank, which was never put into production. He also made contributions in aircraft design, including the Junkers Ju 88, and the Focke-Wulf Ta 152. Additionally, he helped develop and manufacture retaliatory weapons, such as the V-1 flying bombs. In 1937, Porsche was awarded the German National Prize for Art and Science, one of the rarest decorations in Nazi Germany. In 1996, Porsche was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and in 1999 posthumously won the award of Car Engineer of the Century.
Hans Kelsen
Philosopher
Hans Kelsen was a jurist, legal philosopher and political philosopher. He is regarded as one of the most important legal scholars of the 20th century.
Jan Koller
Soccer
Jan Koller is a former Czech footballer. As an international player he played as a striker for the Czech Republic national team. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for his country, with 55 goals in 91 appearances. Standing 202 cm tall and weighing around 107 kg, Koller was noted for having an impressive physical presence and being a constant aerial threat to the opposition.
Paulina Porizkova
Model
Paulina Porizkova is a Czech-born model and actress, who holds dual U.S. and Swedish citizenship. At 18 years old, she became the first woman from Central Europe to be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated 1984 swimsuit issue. She was the second woman to be featured on the swimsuit issue's front cover consecutive times. Porizkova also joined judging in America's Next Top Model in Cycles 10–12.
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Military Commander
Rupert, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, 1st Duke of Cumberland, 1st Earl of Holderness, commonly called Prince Rupert of the Rhine, KG, PC, FRS, was a noted German soldier, admiral, scientist, sportsman, colonial governor and amateur artist during the 17th century. Rupert was a younger son of the German prince Frederick V, Elector Palatine and his wife Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of James I of England. Thus Rupert was the nephew of King Charles I of England, who created him Duke of Cumberland and Earl of Holderness, and the first cousin of King Charles II of England. His sister Electress Sophia was the mother of George I of Great Britain. Prince Rupert had a varied career. He was a soldier from a young age, fighting against Spain in the Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War, and against the Holy Roman Emperor in Germany during the Thirty Years' War. Aged 23, he was appointed commander of the Royalist cavalry during the English Civil War, becoming the archetypal Cavalier of the war and ultimately the senior Royalist general. He surrendered after the fall of Bristol and was banished from England. He served under Louis XIV of France against Spain, and then as a Royalist privateer in the Caribbean. Following the Restoration, Rupert returned to England, becoming a senior British naval commander during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch wars, engaging in scientific invention, art, and serving as the first Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Rupert died in England in 1682, aged 62.
Zdeněk Zeman
Soccer
Zdeněk Zeman is a Czech-Italian football coach. He has managed numerous different teams, mostly in Italian football, over the years, most recently Serie A club Roma.
Petra Cetkovská
Tennis Player
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She reached her career high singles ranking No.25 on 18 June 2012.
Jan Hammer
Jazz fusion Artist
Jan Hammer is a composer, pianist and keyboardist. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in the early 1970s, as well as his film scores for television and film including "Miami Vice Theme" and "Crockett's Theme", from the popular 1980s program, Miami Vice. He continued to work as both a musical performer and producer, expanding to producing film later in his career. Hammer has collaborated with some of the era's most influential jazz and rock musicians such as Jeff Beck, Al Di Meola, Mick Jagger, Carlos Santana, Stanley Clarke, Tommy Bolin, Neal Schon, Steve Lukather, and Elvin Jones among many others. He has composed and produced at least 14 original motion picture soundtracks, the music for 90 episodes of Miami Vice and 20 episodes of the popular British television series Chancer. His compositions have won him several Grammy awards.
Květa Peschke
Tennis Player
Květoslava Peschkeová, better known as Květa Peschke, is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Peschke plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet. At Wimbledon 2011, Peschke claimed her first grand slam doubles title alongside Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik. Peschke became the first Czech player to win the Wimbledon women's doubles title since Jana Novotná in 1998. Peschke and Srebotnik also took over the No. 1 ranking in doubles and they won a WTA Award as 'Doubles Team of the Year' in November 2011.
Petra Němcová
Fashion Model
Petra Němcová is a Czech model, television host, author, and philanthropist. Injured in Thailand by a tsunami resulting from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, while her fiancé the photographer Simon Atlee was killed, Němcová is the founder and chair of the Happy Hearts Fund.
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová
Tennis Player
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest WTA singles ranking has been world number 39, a ranking she achieved on 19 July 2010.
Jaromír Nohavica
Folk Artist
Jaromír Nohavica or Jarek Nohavica is a Czech songwriter, lyricist, and poet. He was born in Ostrava and has played guitar since he was 13. He began studying at the Technical University of Ostrava but eventually left the school. He tried various jobs and eventually ended up working as a freelance lyricist. He gained fame with his first song for Marie Rottrová, Lásko, voníš deštěm. He lives in Ostrava with his wife and two children. In 1982 he started performing in public, a sound decision in that a number of his songs gained wide popularity. His first album, Darmoděj, released in 1988, sold out immediately. An aura of myth arose around Nohavica which survived even the crisis period of his treatment for alcoholism. He subsequently released the slightly pessimistic Mikymauzoleum, an album of mainly melancholy songs. In 1994 he recorded a live album, Tři čuníci, intended for children, with humoristic songs. In 1996 Nohavica released Divné století. He and his producer employed new instruments and voices for the new songs on the album, and it became a huge success. Two years later the Jaromir Nohavica and Kapela came out with Koncert, a record featuring Nohavica playing with a band, and this fact recognizably changed his music. The album contains mainly older material, but the new treatment gave it a new appeal. His studio album from 2000, Moje smutné srdce, contains mostly sad songs about love.
Emil Zátopek
Olympic athlete
Emil Zátopek was a Czech long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. He won gold in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres runs, but his final medal came when he decided at the last minute to compete in the first marathon of his life. He was nicknamed the "Czech Locomotive". Zátopek was the first athlete to break the 29-minute barrier in the 10 km run. Three years earlier, in 1951, he had broken the hour for running 20 km. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest runners of the 20th century and was also known for his brutally tough training methods. In February 2013, the editors at Runner's World Magazine selected him as the Greatest Runner of All Time. He is the only person to win the 5,000 metres, 10,000 metres, and marathon in the same Olympiad.
Bohuslav Martinů
Composer
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. Martinů wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and taught music in his home town. In 1923 Martinů left Czechoslovakia for Paris, and deliberately withdrew from the Romantic style in which he had been trained. In the 1930s he experimented with expressionism and constructivism, and became an admirer of current European technical developments, exemplified by his orchestral works Half-time and La Bagarre. He also adopted jazz idioms, for instance in his Kuchyňské revue. In the early 1930s he found his main font for compositional style, the neo-classical as developed by Stravinsky. With this, he expanded to become a prolific composer, composing chamber, orchestral, choral and instrumental works at a fast rate. His use of the piano obbligato became his signature. His Concerto Grosso and the Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano and Timpani are among his best known works from this period. Among his operas, Juliette and The Greek Passion are considered the finest. He is compared with Prokofiev and Bartók in his innovative incorporation of Central European ethnomusicology into his music. He continued to use Bohemian and Moravian folk melodies throughout his oeuvre, usually nursery rhymes—for instance in Otvírání studánek.
John of Nepomuk
Deceased Person
John of Nepomuk is a national saint of the Czech Republic, who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods.
Tarra White
Pornographic actor
Tarra White is an award-winning Czech pornographic actress. She is a contract performer for Private Media Group.
Tomáš Vokoun
Professional Ice hockey Player
Tomáš Vokoun is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. He has previously played in the NHL for the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he was originally drafted.
Herbert Lom
Actor
Herbert Lom was an actor
Václav Klaus
Politician
Václav Klaus is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second President of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. He also served as the second and last Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, federal subject of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, from July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, and as the first Prime Minister of an independent Czech Republic from 1993 to 1998. Klaus was the principal co-founder of the Civic Democratic Party, the Czech Republic's largest center-right political party. His presidency was marked by numerous controversies over his strong views on a number of issues, from global climate change to euroscepticism, and a wide-ranging amnesty declared in his last months of office. After his presidency ended in 2013, Klaus was named a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute.
Jaroslav Plašil
Soccer Midfielder
Jaroslav Plašil is a Czech footballer who currently plays for Calcio Catania in Serie A and the Czech Republic national football team.
Jan Švankmajer
Animator
Jan Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his surreal animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many others.
Ernst Mach
Physicist
Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, noted for his contributions to physics such as the Mach number and the study of shock waves. As a philosopher of science, he was a major influence on logical positivism and through his criticism of Newton, a forerunner of Einstein's relativity.
Karl Kraus
Author
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is considered the first major European satirist since Jonathan Swift. He directed his satire to the press, German culture, and German and Austrian politics.
Ivana Trump
Socialite
Ivana Trump is a former athlete, socialite, and fashion model noted for her marriage to American business magnate Donald Trump.
Adolf Loos
Architect
Adolf Franz Karl Viktor Maria Loos was an Austrian architect. He was influential in European Modern architecture, and in his essay Ornament and Crime he abandoned the aesthetic principles of the Vienna Secession. In this and many other essays he contributed to the elaboration of a body of theory and criticism of Modernism in architecture.
Tomáš Ujfaluši
Soccer
Tomáš Ujfaluši is a Czech footballer who plays for AC Sparta Prague. He can operate as either a central or right defender. Other than in his country he played professionally in Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey, winning six major titles between Hamburg, Atlético Madrid and Galatasaray. He started his career in 1996 with Sigma Olomouc. Ujfaluši played 78 times for the Czech Republic, representing the nation at the 2006 World Cup and two European Championships.
Eva Herzigová
Actor
Eva Herzigová is a Czech model and actress.
Antonín Panenka
Soccer Midfielder
Antonín Panenka is a Czech former footballer. He played most of his career for Bohemians Prague. Panenka won the 1976 European Championship with Czechoslovakia. In the final against West Germany he scored the winning penalty in the shootout with a softly chipped ball up the middle as the goalie dived away; this style of penalty is now called the Panenka penalty. In 1980 he won Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year and his team finished third in the 1980 European Championship.
Matěj Vydra
Soccer
Matěj Vydra is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on loan from Udinese. He has also played for Vysočina Jihlava, Baník Ostrava, Club Brugge and Watford. Vydra has won caps at full international level for the Czech Republic national team.
Martin Damm
Tennis Tournament Champion
Martin Damm is a former a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known as a doubles player. His highest singles ranking was No. 42 in August 1997. Damm won a total of 40 titles in doubles, including one Grand Slam title. He reached 5 singles finals. Married to Michaela Damm, two sons, one daughter: Maxmillian Martin, Martin Joseph, Laura Michelle Damm all were born in Bradenton, Florida USA. His sons are also playing tennis. He played his last tournament in September 2011 at the US Open and lost to Fleming/Hutchins 63 63.
Princess Michael of Kent
Noble person
Princess Michael of Kent is an Austrian-Hungarian member of the British Royal Family. She is married to Prince Michael of Kent, who is a grandson of King George V. Princess Michael is an interior designer and author, having published several books on the royal families of Europe. She also undertakes lecture tours, and supports her husband in his public work. The Kents do not officially carry out royal duties, although they have on occasion represented Queen Elizabeth II at functions abroad.
Jan Železný
Olympic athlete
Jan Železný is a Czech javelin thrower, world and Olympic champion and world record holder. He holds the top 5 javelin performances of all time.
Bohumil Hrabal
Novelist
Bohumil Hrabal was a Czech writer, regarded by many Czechs as one of the best writers of the 20th century.
Markéta Irglová
Singer-songwriter
Markéta Irglová is a Czech singer-songwriter, musician and actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" at the 80th ceremony, which was co-written with Glen Hansard.
Miloš Zeman
Politician
Miloš Zeman is the third and current President of the Czech Republic, in office since 8 March 2013. Previously he served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party during the 1990s, he transformed it into one of the country's major parties. He was Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Czech parliament, from 1996 to 1998. In January 2013, Zeman was elected as President of the Czech Republic. He is the first directly elected President in Czech history; both of his predecessors, Václav Havel and Václav Klaus, were elected by the Parliament.
Jan Hájek
Tennis Player
Jan Hájek is a male professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He reached the third round of the 2007 French Open and attained a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 71 in November 2006.
Jana Cova
Pornographic actor
Jana Cova, is a Czech pornographic actress and nude model. She self-identifies as bisexual. Born in Vyškov, Cova grew up in the countryside in the Czech Republic where she "had a great childhood". She initially started working as a bikini model, then started doing nude and eventually softcore modeling. She has stated that part of her slow transition into movies was because "I wasn't ready for movies for about a year. I felt stupid in front of the camera." Cova has appeared in several pornographic movies and high-profile men's magazines including Hustler, Penthouse, High Society, Perfect 10, Leg Show, Mayfair, Frenzy and Club International. She was the cover model and Penthouse Pet of April 2003. In April 2005, she signed an exclusive contract with the production company Digital Playground. Her first film as a contract girl was Porcelain, where she had two girl-girl scenes and two solo scenes. In October 2007, Cova left Digital Playground on amicable terms, saying that she wanted to move her career in a new direction.
Monica Sweetheart
Pornographic actor
Monica Sweetheart is the stage name of a Czech pornographic actress.
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz
Military Person
Johann Josef Wenzel Graf Radetzky von Radetz was a Czech nobleman and Austrian general, immortalised by Johann Strauss I's Radetzky March. General Radetzky was in the military for over 70 years, until 90, almost up to his death at age 91, and is known for the victories at the Battles of Custoza and Novara during the First Italian War of Independence.
David Krejčí
Professional Ice hockey Player
David Krejčí is a Czech professional ice hockey center and alternate captain playing for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. He helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011. He was named to the Czech national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics; the team placed 7th overall.
Karel Schwarzenberg
Politician
Karel Schwarzenberg or Karel, Prince of Schwarzenberg, 12th Prince Schwarzenberg and 7th Prince Schwarzenberg, Duke of Krumlov born 10 December 1937, is a Czech politician and the leader of TOP 09 party. Schwarzenberg served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic from July 2010 to 10 July 2013. Nominated originally by the Green Party, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs already from 2007 to 2009. He served as Senator for one of Prague districts from 2004 to 2010. In May 2010, he was elected Member of the Chamber of Deputies, gaining the largest number of preference votes. He was a candidate for President of the Czech Republic in the 2013 presidential election, and qualified for the second round. He ultimately finished second, receiving 45.19% of the votes. Schwarzenberg is noted for his pro-European views. Schwarzenberg has been the head of the House of Schwarzenberg, a formerly leading family of the Habsburg realm, since 1979. He is a relative of Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, a leading statesman of the Austrian Empire. From 1948 to 1990, he lived in Austria, where he was involved in politics for the Austrian People's Party and became a noted critic of human-rights violations in the eastern bloc, chairing the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. Following the fall of communism, he became a close adviser to Václav Havel and relocated to Prague.
Daniel Landa
Singer
Daniel Landa is a Czech musician, actor and racer. Born in Prague, Landa began his musical career in 1987 when he along with David Matásek founded the oi! band Orlík. He graduated from the Prague Conservatory in the area of Music and Drama. After the breakup of the band in 1992 he began his solo career. Daniel lives with his wife Mirjam Müller since 1990. They have a daughter Anastázie and twin daughters Roxana and Rozálie. He used to be interested in autocross, now he's interested in rallying. In 2003, collaborating with Roman Kresta, he founded the Malina foundation, which promotes safe driving. After 3 years of the last tour Landa is planning a new tour named Vozová hradba.
Bertha von Suttner
Novelist
Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner was an Austrian novelist, radical pacifist, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the second to be awarded the Nobel Prize.
Franz Werfel
Playwright
Franz Viktor Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of The Forty Days of Musa Dagh, a novel based on events that took place during the Armenian Genocide of 1915, and The Song of Bernadette, a novel about the life and visions of the French Catholic saint Bernadette Soubirous, which was made into a Hollywood film of the same name.
Jaroslav Hašek
Novelist
Jaroslav Hašek was a Czech humorist, satirist, writer and anarchist best known for his novel The Good Soldier Švejk, an unfinished collection of farcical incidents about a soldier in World War I and a satire on the ineptitude of authority figures, which has been translated into sixty languages. He also wrote some 1,500 short stories. He was a journalist, bohemian, and practical joker.
Jan Palach
Deceased Person
Jan Palach was a Czech student of history and political economy at Charles University. He committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact armies.