List of Czech Americans
Encyclopedia
This is a list of notable Czech American
s who were born in Czech lands or are ethnically Czech, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Czech American or must have references showing they are Czech American and are notable.
Czech American
Czech Americans are citizens of the United States who were born in, or who descended from, the territory of the historic Czech lands, , or succession states, now known as the Czech Republic...
s who were born in Czech lands or are ethnically Czech, including both original immigrants who obtained American citizenship and their American descendants.
To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article showing they are Czech American or must have references showing they are Czech American and are notable.
Pioneer Colonists
- Joachim Gans from Prague, a metallurgist, a member of the first English colonization effort in America (Roanoke, 1585)
- Augustine HermanAugustine HermanAugustine Herman, First Lord of Bohemia Manor was a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam and Cecil County, Maryland...
one of the earliest immigrants in America from Bohemia; creator of first accurate map of MD & VA - Frederick Philipse a descendant of Bohemian aristocratic family, wealthiest person in New Amsterdam (New York)
Business
- Henry Bloch, of Bohemian ancestry, with his brother Richard Bloch, co-founded the H&R Block Co., a tax preparation company in the US, claiming more than 22 million customers worldwide, with offices in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Their grandfather, Adolf Bloch, was born in Janovice nad Uhlavou in Bohemia.
- Richard N. CabelaRichard N. CabelaRichard N. Cabela in Chappell, Nebraska is an entrepreneur, known as a founder in 1961 of Cabela's, one of the world's leading outfitters of outdoor sporting and recreational goods...
, of Czech ancestry, an entrepreneur, known as a founder in 1961 of Cabela's one of the world's leading outfitters of outdoor sporting and recreational goods. - Charles Louis Fleischmann, a Moravia-born innovative manufacturer of yeast and other consumer food products during the 19th Century; founder of the Fleischmann Yeast Co.
- Ray KrocRay KrocRaymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime...
, founder of McDonald Empire - Estée LauderEstée Lauder (person)Estée Lauder was an American businesswoman who was the co-founder, along with her husband Joseph Lauder, of Estée Lauder Companies, a pioneering cosmetics company. Lauder was the only woman on TIME magazine's 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century. She was the...
, of Bohemian father, founder of Estée Lauder Companies, a pioneering cosmetics company.
Religion
- Lewis HodousLewis HodousLewis Hodous was an American Board missionary to China, educator, Sinologist and Buddhologist.-Life:Lewis Hodous was born on December 31, 1872 in Vesec, Bohemia and migrated to the United States with his parents in 1882...
, American missionary and Sinologist. - Joseph Maria KoudelkaJoseph Maria KoudelkaJoseph Maria Koudelka was the second Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Superior, in Superior, Wisconsin....
, second bishop of Diocese of Superior. - John NeumannJohn NeumannSaint John Nepomucene Neumann, C.Ss.R., was a Redemptorist missionary to the United States who became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia and the first American bishop to be canonized...
, Bishop of Philadelphia; first American male Saint. - David NitschmannDavid Nitschmann der BischofDavid Nitschmann der Bischof was with Johann Leonhard Dober one of the two first missionaries of the Moravian Brethren in the West Indies in 1732, and the first Bishop of the Renewed Unitas Fratrum, the Moravian Church...
, (1696‑1772), first bishop of the renewed Unitas fratrum, the Moravian Church. - Isaac Mayer WiseIsaac Mayer WiseIsaac Mayer Wise , was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author.-Early life:...
, Rabbi, Founder of Reformed Judaism in the US. - David ZeisbergerDavid ZeisbergerDavid Zeisberger was a Moravian clergyman and missionary among the Native Americans in the Thirteen Colonies...
, a famed Moravian missionary among the Indians. - Patrick ZurekPatrick ZurekPatrick James Zurek is the current Bishop of Amarillo since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 January 2008. Zurek trained in Rome as a moral theologian who was a chaplain at the Bambino Gesu Children's Hospital during his seminary days.Zurek was ordained a priest in Rome on 29 June 1975 by...
, current Bishop of Amarillo since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
on 3 January 2008.
Government & Politics
- Madeleine AlbrightMadeleine AlbrightMadeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...
, born in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, former US Secretary of State. - Richard BassettRichard BassettRichard Bassett was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the American Revolution, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and a member of the Federalist Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as Governor of Delaware,...
desc. of Augustine HermanAugustine HermanAugustine Herman, First Lord of Bohemia Manor was a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam and Cecil County, Maryland...
, signer of the US constitution. - James Asheton Bayard (III), desc. of Augustine HermanAugustine HermanAugustine Herman, First Lord of Bohemia Manor was a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam and Cecil County, Maryland...
, an American lawyer who served as U.S. Senator from Delaware. - Richard Henry Bayard, desc. of Augustine HermanAugustine HermanAugustine Herman, First Lord of Bohemia Manor was a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam and Cecil County, Maryland...
, an American lawyer, a member of the Whig Party who served as the first Mayor of Wilmington, Chief Justice of the Delaware Superior Court, and as U.S. Senator from Delaware. - Thomas Francis BayardThomas F. BayardThomas Francis Bayard was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served three terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware, and as U.S. Secretary of State, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.-Early life and family:Bayard was born in...
, Sr., desc. of Augustine HermanAugustine HermanAugustine Herman, First Lord of Bohemia Manor was a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam and Cecil County, Maryland...
, an American lawyer who served three terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware, and as U.S. Secretary of State, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. - Thomas Francis BayardThomas F. Bayard, Jr.Thomas Francis Bayard, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served two terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware.-Early life and family:...
, Jr., desc. of Augustine HermanAugustine HermanAugustine Herman, First Lord of Bohemia Manor was a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam and Cecil County, Maryland...
, served two terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware. - Barbara Pierce BushBarbara BushBarbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
, desc. of Moravian Brethren from Bohemia who founded the city of Bethlehem, PA, former First Lady. - Anton CermakAnton CermakAnton Joseph Cermak was the mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1931 until his assassination by Giuseppe Zangara in 1933.-Early life and career:...
was the Mayor of Chicago, IL. - Henry HornerHenry HornerHenry Horner was the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1933 to 1940, when he died in office. Horner was the first Jewish governor of Illinois.- Political biography :...
of Bohemian ancestry, was the 28th Governor of Illinois, serving from 1933 to 1940. - Roman HruskaRoman HruskaRoman Lee Hruska was a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Nebraska. Hruska was known as one of the most vocal conservatives in the United States Senate during the 1960s and 1970s.-Life and career:...
was Senator from Nebraska. - Otto Kerner, Jr.Otto Kerner, Jr.Otto Kerner, Jr. was the 33rd Governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968. He is best known for chairing the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders and for accepting bribes....
was Governor of Illinois - Anthony MichalekAnthony MichalekAnthony Michalek was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.Michalek was born in Radvánov, Bohemia, and immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in Chicago, Illinois in 1878...
was member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Chicago, IL. - Robert J. MrazekRobert J. MrazekRobert Jan Mrazek was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New York's 3rd congressional district on Long Island for most of the 1980s...
was member of the U.S. House of Representatives. - Edmund Jennings Randolph, desc. of Augustine HermanAugustine HermanAugustine Herman, First Lord of Bohemia Manor was a Bohemian explorer, merchant, and cartographer who lived in New Amsterdam and Cecil County, Maryland...
, an American attorney, the seventh Governor of Virginia, the second Secretary of State, and the first US Attorney General. - Adolph J. SabathAdolph J. SabathAdolph Joachim Sabath was an American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Chicago, Illinois, from 1907 until his death.He immigrated to America at age 15, became active in real estate, and received his LL.B...
was member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Chicago, IL. - Judy Baar TopinkaJudy Baar TopinkaJudy Baar Topinka is the Illinois State Comptroller and former Illinois State Treasurer, having served as Treasurer from 1995 to 2007, and former chairwoman of the Illinois Republican Party. She was the first woman to become state treasurer, first to be elected to three consecutive terms and the...
was Illinois State Treasurer and Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. - Robert VanasekRobert VanasekRobert Vanasek is a Minnesota politician and a former member and Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A Democrat, he was first elected to the House in 1972 at just 23 years of age, and was re-elected every two years from 1974 to 1990...
is a Minnesota politician and a former member and Speaker of the Minnesota House of RepresentativesMinnesota House of RepresentativesThe Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
. - Charles VanikCharles VanikCharles Albert Vanik was a Democratic politician from Ohio. He served in the United States House of Representatives....
was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Cleveland, OH. - Caspar Willard Weinberger of Bohemian ancestry on his father’s side, politician, vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987.
Law
- Louis D. Brandeis, son of Czech immigrant, Justice of US Supreme Court.
- Felix FrankfurterFelix FrankfurterFelix Frankfurter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Early life:Frankfurter was born into a Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna, Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe. He was the third of six children of Leopold and Emma Frankfurter...
, of Moravian mother, Justice of US Supreme Court. - Paul Freund, of Bohemian ancestry, lawyer; professor of law at Harvard University; authority on public law and understanding the Supreme Court.
- Hans Kelsen, Prague-born jurist and legal philosopher; one of the most important legal scholars of the 20th century.
- Otto KernerOtto Kerner, Sr.Otto Kerner, Sr. was a Democratic Illinois Attorney General and a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. His son, Otto Kerner, Jr., was twice elected Democratic governor of Illinois, serving from 1961 to 1968 and also served as a judge on the Seventh Circuit, from...
, Sr., Illinois Attorney General and a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. - John Glover Roberts, Jr., Chief Justice of US Supreme Court
Music
- Jan BalatkaJan BalatkaHans Balatka was a United States conductor and composer. His efforts contributed much to the great increase in popularity of European classical music in the United States during the late 19th century.-Biography:His parents were noted musicians...
conductor, founder of the Milwaukee Musical Society. - Rudolf FirkusnyRudolf Firkusny- Life :Born in Moravian Napajedla, Firkušný started his musical studies with the composers Leoš Janáček and Josef Suk, and the pianist Vilém Kurz. Later he studied with Alfred Cortot and Artur Schnabel. He began performing on the continent of Europe in the 1920s, and made his debuts in London in...
, pianist of note. - Rudolf FrimlRudolf FrimlRudolf Friml was a composer of operettas, musicals, songs and piano pieces, as well as a pianist. After musical training and a brief performing career in his native Prague, Friml moved to the United States, where he became a composer...
, composer of operettas. - Jan HammerJan HammerJan 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...
, musician , film music composer; Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist. - Karel HusaKarel HusaKarel Husa is a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Music Composition...
, Pullitzer Prize-winning composer. - Tomas KalnokyTomas KalnokyTomas Kalnoky is a Czech-born American musician. He is the lead singer/guitarist and songwriter of the bands Streetlight Manifesto and Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, and goes by the pseudonym Toh Kay as a solo performer...
, Prague-born lead guitarist/vocalist of New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
ska punk band Streetlight ManifestoStreetlight ManifestoStreetlight Manifesto is an American punk band with many influences from different genres including ska, from New Brunswick, New Jersey fronted by Tomas Kalnoky.... - Jerome David Kern, of Bohemian ancestry on his mother’ side (Fanny Kakeles), one of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", etc.
- Erich Wolfgang KorngoldErich Wolfgang KorngoldErich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
, a Brno-born Hollywood composer. - Ivan KralIvan KralIvan Kral is a Grammy Award-winning Czechoslovakian-born American composer, filmmaker and singer. He works across many genres including rock, jazz, soul, country and film scores...
, musician and director. - Jason MrazJason MrazJason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...
, Singer-Songwriter. - Jarmila NovotnáJarmila NovotnáJarmila Novotná was a celebrated Czech soprano and actress and, from 1940 to 1956, a star of the Metropolitan Opera.-Early career:...
, opera singer. - Rudolf SerkinRudolf SerkinRudolf Serkin , was a Bohemian-born pianist.-Life and early career:Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire to a Russian-Jewish family....
, eminent pianist. - George SzellGeorge SzellGeorge Szell , originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer...
, prominent conductor and composer of Cleveland Orchestra. - Miroslav VitoušMiroslav VitoušMiroslav Ladislav Vitouš , is a Czech jazz bassist.-Biography:Born in Prague, he began the violin at age six, and started playing the piano at age ten, and bass at fourteen. As a young man in Europe, Vitouš was a competitive swimmer. One of his early music groups was the Junior Trio with his...
, musician (Weather Report bassist). - Jaromír WeinbergerJaromír Weinberger- Biography :Weinberger was born in Prague, from a family of Jewish origin. He heard Czech folksongs from time spent at his grandparents' farm as a youth. He started to play the piano at age 5, and was composing and conducting by age 10. He began musical studies with Jaroslav Křička. Later teachers...
, composer.
Dramatic Art
- Milos FormanMiloš FormanJan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
, film director. - Karl MaldenKarl MaldenKarl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
, of Czech mother, an actor, whose career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. - Kim NovakKim NovakKim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
, motion picture actress. - Fanny JanauschekFanny JanauschekFanny Janauschek aka Madame Fanny Janauschek was a 19th century character actress born in Prague . She came to America in 1867 and first performed at the Academy of Music, New York City, on October 9, 1867 managed by Max Maretzek. She spoke no English, only German and often worked with all...
, a famed character actress, who became famous acting in great Shakespearean parts and other famous parts. - Jim JarmuschJim JarmuschJames R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
, independent filmmaker. - Sissy SpacekSissy SpacekSissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...
, actress, her father is of Czech origin. - George Voskovec, actor, writer.
- William ZabkaWilliam ZabkaWilliam Michael "Billy" Zabka is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He is an Academy Award Nominee for Co-Writing and Producing the film, "MOST." Zabka is best known for his villain roles in several iconic 80s films, such as his role of Johnny Lawrence in 1984's The Karate...
, actor, producer, screenwriter, and martial artist.
Visual Art
- Charles DemuthCharles DemuthCharles Demuth was an American watercolorist who turned to oils late in his career, developing a style of painting known as Precisionism....
, of Moravian ancestry, an artist; a notable painter who had major influence on American art by introduction of modern European movements, such as cubism. - Harrison FisherHarrison FisherHarrison Fisher was an American illustrator.Fisher was born in Brooklyn, New York City and began to draw at an early age. Both his father and his grandfather were artists. Fisher spent much of his youth in San Francisco, and studied at the San Francisco Art Association...
, of Bohemian ancestry, a popular commercial artist and illustrator of the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine from the early 1900's through 1934; known as ‘The Father of a Thousand Girls’. - Wanda GágWanda GágWanda Hazel Gág was an American author and illustrator. She was born on March 11, 1893, in New Ulm, Minnesota. Her mother and father were of Bohemian descent. Both parents were artists who had met in Germany. They had seven children, who all acquired some level of artistic talent...
, a notable American illustrator and author of Bohemian descent. - Jan MatulkaJan MatulkaJan Matulka was a Czech-American modern artist originally from Bohemia. Matulka's style would range from Abstract expressionism to landscapes, sometimes in the same day.-Early life:...
, painter. - Albin PolasekAlbin PolasekAlbin Polasek was a Czech-American sculptor and educator. He created more than four hundred works during his career, two hundred of which are now displayed in the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Florida.-Career:Born as Albín Polášek in Frenštát, Moravia , Polasek...
, sculptor. - Antonin RaymondAntonin RaymondAntonin Raymond, or , born: was a Czech architect, who lived and worked in the USA and Japan...
, a famed architect who explored traditional Japanese building techniques with the latest American building innovations. - Rudolph RuzickaRudolph RuzickaRudolph Ruzicka prominent Czech-born American wood engraver, etcher, illustrator, typeface designer, and book designer. Ruzicka designed typefaces and wood engraving illustrations for Daniel Berkeley Updike's Merrymount Press, and was a designer for, and consultant to, the Mergenthaler Linotype...
, a prominent Czech-born American wood engraver, etcher, illustrator, typeface designer, and book designer. - Peter SisPeter SisPeter Sís is an award-winning children's book writer and illustrator. Sís attended the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and the Royal College of Art in London...
, writer and illustrator of children's books. - Paul StrandPaul StrandPaul Strand was an American photographer and filmmaker who, along with fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century...
, of Bohemian immigrant parents, one of the most important figures in American twentieth-century photography. - Ladislav SutnarLadislav SutnarLadislav Sutnar was a graphic designer from Pilsen, Czechoslovakia who was a pioneer of information design and information architecture. Although he is uncredited, his contributions to business organization benefited society, which included creating a user-friendly telephone directory by...
, a graphic artist, considered one of the great pioneers of the modern period.
Creative Writing
- Miles J. BreuerMiles J. BreuerMiles John Breuer was an American physician and science fiction writer. He was part of the first generation of writers to appear regularly in the pulp science fiction magazines, publishing his first story, "The Man with the Strange Head", in the January 1927 issue of Amazing Stories...
, trained as physician, an early science fiction writer. - Theodore DreiserTheodore DreiserTheodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
, of Moravian mother, a notable American writer in the naturalism movement. - James Thomas FlexnerJames Thomas FlexnerJames Thomas Flexner was an American historian and author best known for his prize-winning four-volume biography of George Washington, which earned him a National Book Award and a special Pulitzer Prize citation...
, of Bohemian ancestry, one of American foremost men of letters, especially noted for his four-volume Biography of George Washington. - Patricia HamplPatricia HamplPatricia Hampl is an American memoirist, writer, lecturer, and educator. She is a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, teaches in the MFA program at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis and is one of the founding members of the Loft Literary Center.-Life:Hampl was...
, writer; one of the founding members of the Loft Literary Center. - Arnost LustigArnošt LustigArnošt Lustig was a renowned Czech Jewish author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays whose works have often involved the Holocaust.Lustig was born in Prague...
, a notable writer of the Holocaust. - Frederic ProkoschFrederic ProkoschFrederic Prokosch was an American writer, known for his novels, poetry, memoirs and criticism. He was also a distinguished translator.-Biography:...
, a novelist and poet. - Charles SealsfieldCharles SealsfieldCharles Sealsfield was the pseudonym of Austrian-American journalist Carl Anton Postl , an advocate for a German democracy and author of Romantic novels with American backgrounds and travelogues....
(pseudonym of Karl Anton Postl), author of romantic novels with American backgrounds and travelogues. - Clifford Donald Simak, an American science fiction writer of Czech ancestry.
- Josef SkvoreckyJosef ŠkvoreckýJosef Škvorecký, CM is a leading contemporary Czech writer and publisher who has spent much of his life in Canada. He and his wife were long-time supporters of Czech dissident writers before the fall of communism in that country...
, writer. - Nicholas Sparks, an internationally-bestselling American novelist and screenwriter of Czech ancestry.
- Joseph WechsbergJoseph WechsbergJoseph Wechsberg was a Czech writer, journalist, musician, and gourmet....
, a free-lance writer associated with the New Yorker magazine. - Franz WerfelFranz WerfelFranz Werfel was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet.- Biography :Born in Prague , Werfel was the first of three children of a wealthy manufacturer of gloves and leather goods. His mother, Albine Kussi, was the daughter of a mill owner...
, a famous novelist, playwright, and poet, known especially for his novel, Song of Bernadette.
Media and Publishing
- Meyer BergerMeyer BergerMeyer "Mike" Berger was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and columnist for The New York Times. Berger was known for his long running column "About New York" and for his history of the first 100 years of the New York Times...
, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and columnist for The New York Times. - Edward Bloch, founder of the Bloch Publishing CompanyBloch Publishing CompanyBloch Publishing Company is the oldest Jewish publishing company, and one of the oldest ongoing family businesses, in the United States.-History:...
, the first Jewish publishing house in US. - Mika Emilie Leonia Brzezinski, of Czech mother, TV news journalist at MSNBC, co-host of MSNBC's weekday morning program Morning Joe.
- Edward RosewaterEdward RosewaterEdward Rosewater, born Edward Rosenwasser, was a Republican Party politician and newspaper editor in Omaha, Nebraska...
, founder of the daily The Omaha Daily Bee which developed into the largest and most influential newspaper on the mid-west.
Humanities & Social Sciences
- Francis DvornikFrancis DvornikFrancis Dvornik , in Czech František Dvorník, was a priest and academic, and one of the leading twentieth-century experts on Slavic and Byzantine history, and on relations between the churches of Rome and Constantinople.-Career:Dvornik taught at Charles University in Prague, the Collège de France,...
, Moravia-born, authority on Byzantine history, Slavic history and civilization. - Saul FriedländerSaul FriedländerSaul Friedländer is an award-winning Israeli historian and currently a professor of history at UCLA.-Biography:...
, Prague-born, award-winning historian, currently a professor of history at UCLA. - Ales HrdlickaAleš HrdlickaAleš Hrdlička or Ales Hrdlicka was a Czech anthropologist who lived in the United States after his family had moved there in 1881...
, founder of American physical anthropology. - Paul Felix Lazarsfeld, of Moravian ancestry, founder of modern empirical sociology.
- Richard NeustadtRichard NeustadtRichard Elliott Neustadt was an American political scientist specializing in the United States presidency. He also served as advisor to several presidents.-Biography:...
, of Bohemian ancestry, political scientist at Harvard; first director of J.F. Kennedy Inst. of Politics. - Beardsley RumlBeardsley RumlBeardsley Ruml , was an American statistician, economist, philanthropist, planner, businessman and man of affairs in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. He was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His father, Wentzle Ruml, was a country doctor. His mother, Salome Beardsley Ruml, was a hospital superintendent. He...
, of Czech immigrant father, economist, devised plan to collect taxes at their source by means of a payroll deduction system, on a pay as you go basis. - Joseph Alois Schumpeter, Moravia-born, notable economist at Harvard University.
- Jan ŠvejnarJan ŠvejnarJan Švejnar is a USA-based, Czech-born economist. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the 2008 election of the President of the Czech Republic....
, Prague-born, notable economist. - Frank William TaussigFrank William TaussigFrank William Taussig was a U.S. economist and educator. Taussig is credited with creating the foundations of modern trade theory.-Biography:...
, of Czech ancestry, economist and educator, credited with creating the foundations of modern trade theory. - René WellekRené WellekRené Wellek was a Czech-American comparative literary critic. Like Erich Auerbach, Wellek was an eminent product of the Central European philological tradition and was known as a vastly erudite and "fair-minded critic of critics."René Wellek was born and raised in Vienna, speaking Czech and German...
, of Czech father, founder of literary criticism and comparative literature. - Max WertheimerMax Wertheimer- External links :* * * * *...
, a Czech-born psychologist who was one of the founders of Gestalt psychology.
Science & Technology
- Alfred BaderAlfred BaderAlfred Bader CBE is a Canadian chemist, businessman and collector of fine art.-Early years:Bader's father's family was of Czech Jewish descent; his mother was a Catholic Hungarian aristocrat. He fled from Austria to England in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution...
, son of Czech immigrant, founder of Aldrich Chemical Company, art collector, philanthropist. - Thomas CechThomas CechThomas Robert Cech is a chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel prize in chemistry with Sidney Altman, for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. Cech discovered that RNA could itself cut strands of RNA, which showed that life could have started as RNA...
, of Czech ancestry, Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry. - Carl Cori, Prague-born Nobel Prize laureate.
- Gerty CoriGerty CoriGerty Theresa Cori was an American biochemist who became the third woman—and first American woman—to win a Nobel Prize in science, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.Cori was born in Prague...
, Prague born Nobel Prize laureate. - Abraham FlexnerAbraham FlexnerAbraham Flexner was an American educator. His Flexner Report, published in 1910, reformed medical education in the United States...
, son of Czech immigrant, reformer of American medical education, founder of Institute of Advanced study, Princeton. - Simon FlexnerSimon FlexnerSimon Flexner, M.D. was a physician, scientist, administrator, and professor of experimental pathology at the University of Pennsylvania . He was the first director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation...
, son of Czech immigrant, pathologist, founder and first director of the Rockefeller Institute (now University). - Václav HlavatýVáclav HlavatýVáclav Hlavatý was a noted Czech-American mathematician, who wrote on the theory of relativity and corresponded extensively with Albert Einstein on the subject. In particular, Hlavatý solved some very difficult equations relating to Einstein's Unified field theory, which was featured in the news...
, a noted Czech-American mathematician, who solved some very difficult equations relating to Einstein's Unified field theory. - Aleš HrdličkaAleš HrdlickaAleš Hrdlička or Ales Hrdlicka was a Czech anthropologist who lived in the United States after his family had moved there in 1881...
, a physical anthropologist of note; founder and the first curator of physical anthropology of the U.S. National Museum. - Josef Allen Hynek, of Czech ancestry, astronomer, professor, and ufologist.
- Karl Jansky, of Czech ancestry, discoverer of radio astronomy.
- Frederick JelinekFrederick JelinekFrederick Jelinek was a Czech American researcher in information theory, automatic speech recognition, and natural language processing...
, pioneer of statistical methods in computational linguistics. - Gustav LindenthalGustav LindenthalGustav Lindenthal was a civil engineer who designed the Hell Gate Bridge among other bridges.Lindenthal's work was greatly affected by his pursuit for perfection and his love of art. His structures not only serve the purpose they were designed for, but are aesthetically pleasing to the public eye...
, Brno-born, notable civil engineer who designed the Hell Gate Bridge (1917) among other bridges. - Frank MalinaFrank MalinaFrank Joseph Malina was an American aeronautical engineer and painter, especially known for becoming both a pioneer in the art world and the realm of scientific engineering.-Early life:...
, of Czech parents, aeronautical engineer who designed the first U. S. rocket to break the 50-mile altitude mark, becoming the first sounding rocket to reach space. - Mila RechciglMila RechciglMiloslav Rechcigl, Jr., or Mila Rechcigl, is a trained biochemist, nutritionist and cancer researcher, writer, editor, historian, bibliographer and genealogist. He was one of the founders and past President for many years of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences.-Biography:He was born on...
, biochemist who pioneered early studies on enzyme synthesis and degradation; one of the founders and long-time President of SVU. - Oldrich VasicekOldrich VasicekOldrich Alfons Vasicek a Czech mathematician, received his master's degree in math from the Czech Technical University, 1964, and a doctorate in probability theory from Charles University four years later....
, mathematician, author of several financial models including Vasicek model. - Paul ZamecnikPaul ZamecnikPaul Charles Zamecnik was an American scientist who played a central role in the early history of molecular biology. He was a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a senior scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Zamecnik pioneered the in vitro synthesis of proteins and helped...
, of Czech ancestry, a biochemist of note, who played a central role in the early history of molecular biology. - Charles ZelenyCharles ZelenyCharles Zeleny was a Czech-American zoologist, and professor at the University of Illinois. He made important contributions to experimental zoology, especially embryology, regeneration, and genetics....
, a Czech-American zoologist, and professor at the University of Illinois, who made important contributions to experimental zoology, especially embryology, regeneration, and genetics.
Medicine
- Karl KollerKarl Koller (ophthalmologist)Karl Koller was an Austrian ophthalmologist who began his medical career as a surgeon at the Vienna General Hospital, and was a colleague of Sigmund Freud.Koller introduced cocaine as a local anaesthetic for eye surgery...
, Bohemia-born ophthalmologist, a discoverer of using cocaine as a local anesthetic for eye surgery. - Karl LandsteinerKarl LandsteinerKarl Landsteiner , was an Austrian-born American biologist and physician of Jewish origin. He is noted for having first distinguished the main blood groups in 1900, having developed the modern system of classification of blood groups from his identification of the presence of agglutinins in the...
, of Bohemian mother, a physician, noted for having first distinguished the main blood groups in 1900, having developed the modern system of classification of blood groups. - Peter SafarPeter SafarPeter Safar was an Austrian physician of Czech descent. He is credited with pioneering cardiopulmonary resuscitation.- Early life :...
, Austrian physician of Czech descent, who is credited with pioneering cardiopulmonary resuscitation. - Helen Taussig, granddaughter of Czech immigrant, medical researcher at Johns Hopkins University who alerted physicians of the dangers of thalidomide
Military
- Leopold Karpeles, a Color Sergeant, recipient of Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in 1864 during the Civil War.
- William F. LukesWilliam F. LukesWilliam F. Lukes was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the 1871 Korean Expedition.-Biography:William F. Lukes enlisted in the U.S...
, US Navy sailor, a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions in the 1871 Korean Expedition. - Coral Wong Pietsch, of Czech mother and Chinese father, a Brigadier General in the United States Army Reserve; the first ‘Asian’ American woman to reach the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army.
- Apollo SoucekApollo SoucekApollo Soucek was a vice admiral in the United States Navy, who was a record-breaking test pilot during 1929-1930, served in World War II, and was commander of Carrier Division Three during the Korean War, ending his career as Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics.-Biography:Soucek was born in...
, a Vice Admiral in the US Navy, who was a record-breaking test pilot during 1929-1930. - Henry SvehlaHenry SvehlaHenry Svehla was a United States Army soldier who on May 2, 2011 was posthumously awarded the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Korean War...
, Army Pfc., of Czech father, awarded posthumously by President Obama a Medal of Honor for his heroic action during Korean War. - Wilhelm D. StyerWilhelm D. StyerWilhelm Delp Styer was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army.-Biography:Styer was born on July 22, 1893, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He was the son of Brigadier General Henry D. Styer , who led U.S...
, of Bohemian ancestry, a commanding general of US Army Forces of the Western Pacific from 1945‑46, during the Pearl Harbor attack by Japanese. - Edward David Taussig, of Bohemian ancestry, Rear Admiral US Navy; took possession of Wake Island for the US and took charge of Guam in 1899; served in the Philippines and in North China.
- Joseph TaussigJoseph TaussigJoseph Knefler Taussig was a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy. He served in the Spanish–American War, China Relief Expedition, World War I and World War II.-Biography:...
, of Bohemian ancestry, Vice Admiral, participated in Spanish-American War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Campaign, Cuban Pacification, World War I, and Nicaraguan Campaign of 1927.
Exploration
- Eugene Cernan, of Czech mother, Astronaut; was last man of Apollo to leave his footprints on the moon.
- George John Dufek, Rear Admiral; first American at geographic South Pole in 1956.
- Anthony FialaAnthony FialaAnthony Fiala was an American explorer, born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and educated at Cooper Union and the National Academy of Design, New York City...
, of Czech parents, explorer and photographer, who, from 1903 to 1905, was in command of the Ziegler Polar Expedition. - John Fabian (1939‑), astronaut; mission specialist abroad two shuttle flights STS-7 in June 1983 and Mission 51‑G in June 1985.
- Andrew J. (Drew) Feustel, geophysicist and astronaut; took part in STS-125 flight, lasting almost 13 days, to repair the Hubble Space Telescope; his send mission, on STS-134 flight, was the second last Space Shuttle flight.
- Jim LovellJim LovellJames "Jim" Arthur Lovell, Jr., is a former NASA astronaut and a retired captain in the United States Navy, most famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission...
, astronaut; was command module pilot of Apollo 8, man's first flight around the moon.
Sports & Acrobatics
- Hugo BezdekHugo BezdekHugo Francis Bezdek was a Czech-American sports figure who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon , the University of Arkansas , Penn State University , and Delaware Valley College...
, football, basketball and baseball coach, u inductee in the college Football Hall of Fame (1954). - George BlandaGeorge BlandaGeorge Frederick Blanda was a collegiate and professional football quarterback and placekicker...
, of Czech mother, former football player. - Amy FadhliAmy FadhliAmy Fadhli is an American fitness model, actress and winner of the Fitness America National Champion 1996...
, fitness model 1996 (Czech mother and Iraqi father). - George S. Halas, “Papa Bear”, player-coach of the Chicago Bears.
- John HavlicekJohn HavlicekJohn J. "Hondo" Havlicek is a retired American professional basketball player who competed for 16 seasons with the Boston Celtics, winning eight NBA titles, half of them coming in his first four seasons....
, of Czech ancestry, basketball player. - Al HostakAl HostakAlbert Paul Hostak , nicknamed "the Savage Slav," was an American-born middleweight boxer who fought from 1932-1949. Hostak twice held the National Boxing Association Middleweight title between 1938 and 1940...
, middleweight boxing champion. - Ivan LendlIvan LendlIvan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...
, tennis player. - Evan Frank Lysacek, a figure skater; the 2010 Olympic champion and the 2009 World champion.
- Stanley Frank Musial, of Czech mother, baseball player of international fame.
- Martina Navratilova, tennis player.
- John PesekJohn PesekJohn Pesek was an American professional wrestler and notable greyhound racing dog breeder.He was born to Bohemian parents near Ravenna, Nebraska, the fifth of seven children, and grew up living the hard life of the American pioneer. His father Martin died in an accident when John was twelve...
, an American professional wrestler, known as ‘The Nebraska Tiger Man’; inductee in the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2005). - Karl WallendaKarl WallendaKarl Wallenda was the founder of The Flying Wallendas, an internationally known daredevil circus act famous for performing death-defying stunts without a safety net.-Personal life:...
, founder of the Flying Wallenda, with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Recreation
- Lubomir Kavalek, chess grandmaster.
- Wilhelm SteinitzWilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
, Prague-born chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894.