CONTEXTS - The Rough Guide to Prague - page 370

PRAGUE PERSONALITIES
Beneš,Edvard (1884-1948).Herotosome,traitortoothers,Benešwaspresidentfrom1935
until 1938 - when he resigned, having refused to lead the country into bloodshed over the
MunichCrisis-andagainfrom1945until1948,whenheacquiescedintheCommunistcoup.
Brahe, Tycho (1546-1601). Ground-breaking Danish astronomer, who was summoned to
Prague by Rudolf II in 1597, only to die from over-drinking in 1601.
Braun, Matthias Bernard (1684-1738). Austrian sculptor who achieved his greatest fame
in the Czech Lands, executing sculptures for the city's Baroque palaces, gardens and
churches.
Brokoff, Ferdinand Maximilian (1688-1731). Along with Braun, Prague's most famous
Baroque sculptor, several of whose works adorn Charles Bridge.
Čapek, Josef (1887-1945). Cubist artist and writer and illustrator of children's books, Josef
was older brother to the more famous Karel ; he died in Belsen concentration camp.
Čapek,Karel (1890-1938).Czechwriter,journalistandunofficialspokespersonfortheFirst
Republic.Hismostfamousworksare The Insect Play and R.U.R. ,whichintroducedtheword
robot into the English language.
Dientzenhofer, Kilian Ignác (1689-1751). One of the city's most prolific Baroque archi-
tects, whose most famous work is probably the church of sv Mikuláš in Malá Strana.
Dobrovský,Josef (1753-1829). Jesuit-taught pioneer in Czech philology. Wrote the seminal
text The History of Czech Language and Literature .
Dubček, Alexander (1921-92). Slovak Communist who became First Secretary in January
1968, at the beginning of the Prague Spring. Expelled from the Party in 1969, but returned
to become speaker in the federal parliament after 1989, before being killed in a car crash in
1992.
Dvořák, Antonín (1841-1904). Perhaps the most famous of all Czech composers. His best-
known work is the New World Symphony , inspired by an extensive sojourn in the US.
Fučik, Julius (1903-43). Communist journalist murdered by the Nazis, whose prison writ-
ings, Notes from the Gallows ,wereobligatoryreadinginthe1950s.Hundredsofstreetswere
named after him, but doubts about the authenticity of the work and general hostility towards
the man have made him persona non grata .
Gottwald, Klement (1896-1953). One of the founders of the KSČ, general secretary from
1927, prime minister from 1946 to 1948, and president from 1948 to 1953, Gottwald is uni-
versally abhorred for his role in the show trials of the 1950s.