Notable Czech And Slovak Americans

The contribution to the development and culture of America by the immigrants from the territory of former Czechoslovakia, be they Czechs or Slovaks, or Bohemians, as they used to be called, has been enormous. Yet little has been written about the subject. This compendium is part of an effort to correct this glaring deficiency. In this compendium, the focus is on religion, law and jurisprudence, business and entrepreneurship and the notable people in the government, with the narration and assessment about the Czechoslovak American explorers, adventurers and pioneers who paved the way for the colonists and settlers who followed them. An important role among them played the social movement activists. some of whose ideas won the respect and ultimately acceptance by general population, to which subject an entire section has been devoted. Among other, you will find among them abolitionists, freethinkers. suffragists, civil & human rights activists, environmentalists and conservationists, climate change activists, philanthropists, inventors and even futurists or futurologists. Their innovative ideas, inevitably, led to the rise of the plethora of Czech and Slovak American leaders, encompassing, practically, every aspect of human endeavor. As stated in the Foreword, this reference will serve as a powerful research tool for many years to come for scholars and all Czechs and Slovaks on both sides of the Atlantic.

As pointed out in my last two publications, no comprehensive study has been undertaken about the American Learned Men and Women with Czechoslovak roots. The aim of this work is to correct this glaring deficiency, with the focus on immigration from the period of mass migration and beyond, irrespective whether they were born in their European ancestral homes or whether they have descended from them. Whereas in the two mentioned monographs, the emphasis has been on scholars and social and natural scientists; and men and women in medicine, applied sciences and engineering, respectively, the present compendium deals with notable Americans of Czechoslovak ancestry in arts and letters, and in education. With respect to women, although most professional fields were closed to them through much of the nineteenth century, the area of arts and letters was opened to them, as noted earlier and as this compendium authenticates.

This monograph encompasses notable Czech Americans, Slovak Americans and Bohemian Jews, and their descendants, many of them heretofore unknown, or ignored, forgotten, obscured, concealed or snubbed. A number of these individuals may not be even aware of their ancestry. Apart from single individuals, a number of immigrants have grown into respectable families, some of which are exceedingly large which is the case of Augustine Heřman's and Frederick Philipse's descendants who have lived in America since the mid of the 17th century. Among them you will find a plethora of outstanding personalities who played a significant and frequently leading role in the development, growth and governing of the United States. This is reflected in the number of governors, mayors, legislators, as well as in business and professionals, in just about every facet of human endeavor. The compendium is divided into two parts. Part I refers to Individuals, organized into various areas in which they have gained some notoriety, encompassing business, religion, government and politics, military, activism, law and jurisprudence, medicine and allied health sciences, visual arts, dramatic arts, music, creative writing, media and publishing, education, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and technology, sports and athletics, and recreation. Part II covers Families and their descendants whose mostly English-sounding names will be readily recognizable, yet their Czechoslovak roots may not be known. The selection of families has been based on their size and importance, and the author's familiarity. The approach taken in this publication is unique which hopefully will open up new horizons for students, researchers and people interested in the immigration and cultural history.

Czech American Timeline chronicles important events bearing on Czech-American history, from the earliest known entry of a Czech on American soil to date. This comprehensive chronology depicts the dazzling epic history of Czech colonists, settlers, as well as early visitors, and their descendants, starting in 1519, with Hernn Corts soldier Johann Berger in Mexico, and in 1528, the Jchymov miners in Haiti, through the escapades of Bohemian Jesuits in Latin America in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Bohemian and Moravian pioneer settlers in New Amsterdam (New York) in the 17th century and the extraordinary mission work of Moravian Brethren in the 18th century, to the mass migration of Czechs from the Habsburg Empire in the second half of the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries and the contemporary exodus of Czechs from Nazism and Communism. Historically, this is the first serious undertaking of its kind. This is an invaluable reference to all researchers and students of Czech-American history, as well as to professionals and amateurs of Czech-American genealogy, and to individuals interested in immigration and cultural history, in general.

Hardcover book with Dusk jacket cover (front and back) depicting scenes of Slovak life in America. The dust jacket has not yet been designed.

Two individuals featured on the front cover, no doubt, belong among the most distinguished Slovak Americans: the physician Joseph Goldberger and the theologian Jaroslav Pelikan, Jr. Joseph Goldberger (1874-1929) (on the left in uniform) was American epidemiologist in the US Public Health Service. He discovered the cause of pellagra and stepped on a number of medical toes when his research experiments showed that diet and not germs caused the disease. Due to his important discoveries, he was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Jr. (1923-2006) was one of the world's leading scholars in the history of Christianity, who authored more than 30 books. Pelikan was the Sterling Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University and dean of the graduate school. He was president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and recipient of over 40 honorary doctorates all over the world.

This book features a panorama of the lives of selected personalities, whose roots had origin in the Czech lands and who, in the US, reached extraordinary success and who, with their activities, substantially influenced the growth and development of their new homeland. It is a saga of plain, as well as powerful, people whose influence and importance often exceeded the borders of the US. A great portion of included individuals may be unknown to readers since it concerns persons whose Czech origin was usually not known. The book covers the total period from the times of the discovery of New World to the end of the twentieth century. During the selection, little concern was given to nationalistic or ethnographic criteria, the only prerequisite was that the respected individuals were either born on the territory of the Czech lands or were descendants of emigrants from the Czech lands. The image on the front cover is a portrait of Augustine Herman, Lord of Bohemia Manor, the first documented Czech immigrant in the United States. The portrait comes from his famous Map of Maryland and Virginia, dated 1670. The colorful story of his life would be unbelievable if made into a movie. Pioneer, merchant, explorer, surveyor, map maker, patriot, rebel, diplomat, and finally Lord! Read more about him in the book.