Czech American Timeline

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.

By Jan Habenicht, translated by Miroslav Koudelka. Published by the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, 1996. The author describes the historical development of Czech settlements on a state-by-state basis, includes numerous photographs and illustrations. Maps of states settled by Czech immigrants, showing counties, are included in the appendix. Also included are a listing of Czech-American organizations, surname and geographical indexes.

This valuable resource book was written by Dr. Jan Habenicht of Chicago and published by the Hlas Publishing company of St. Louis in 1910. The research of Dr. Habenicht included extensive travel across the entire United States and writing thousands of letters. It was translated into English by Miroslav Koudelka, a member of CGSI, and edited and arranged by Paul M. Makousky, Publication Chair of CGSI. The book has 595 pages (8 1/2" x 11"), is bound by a hardcover and features a beautifully finished metallic blue and white jacket containing a photograph of the Dvorak family in the raspberry field in Minnetonka Township, Minnesota on the front and the Vasko family on their farm near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin on the back. Additions to the book include an index to the illustrations (276 of them), a foreword to the English edition by Paul M. Makousky, a list of the Czech fraternal organizations (appendix II), maps of the 14 states with the largest Czech populations (appendix I), a complete surname index (over 2,400 names), a geographical name index, and a biography of the author. Even if you don't find your family name(s) in this book, it is very valuable in describing the living conditions and experiences of our Czech forbearers from the mid 1800's to 1910. This book provides the most extensive description of Czech life; in religion, among fraternal organizations, in the press, in theater, and in the struggle for maintaining the Czech heritage versus becoming part of the American melting pot. An index listing all surnames in History of Czechs in America was added as a feature to the English edition.

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.

Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia, was a unique political leader whose speeches, lectures, newspaper articles, and historical essays greatly influenced his people. Although the Nazi and Communist regimes tried to suppress Masaryk's ideas, the Czech people have turned to them again and again after the nation regained a measure of freedom. Wellek brings together for the first time an English translation of Masaryk's writings that appeared between 1895 and 1910. Originally published 1974. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

As the Czech ambassador to the United States, H. E. Petr Gandalovic noted in his foreword to this book that Mla Rechcgl has written a monumental work representing a culmination of his life achievement as a historian of Czech America. The Encyclopedia of Bohemian and Czech American Biography is a unique and unparalleled publication. The enormity of this undertaking is reflected in the fact that it covers a universe, starting a few decades after the discovery of the New World, through the escapades and significant contributions of Bohemian Jesuits and Moravian brethren in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the mass migration of the Czechs after the revolutionary year of 1848, and up to the early years of the twentieth century and the influx of refugees from Nazism and communism. The encyclopedia has been planned as a representative, a comprehensive and authoritative reference tool, encompassing over 7,500 biographies. This prodigious and unparalleled encyclopedic vade mecum, reflecting enduring contributions of notable Americans with Czech roots, is not only an invaluable tool for all researchers and students of Czech American history but is also a carte blanche for the Czech Republic, which considers Czech Americans as their own and as a part of its magnificent cultural history.