Famous Czech Personality

He stopped his sport´s career in 37 years. In the 18 years his sport´s career he won four gold medals at three olympic games, two gold medals from European Champion Ship.He was 15x champion of our republic, He got over 18 world´s records and 61 czech records.

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk

Tomáš Masaryk was born 7th March 1850 in Hodonín as the oldest son in a poor family. There he attended the primary school. In 1865 he was accepted at German secondary school. After he finished this secondary school he moved to Vienna where he studied philosophy, psychology, history and modern languages. In 1872 he enrolled at University in Vienna where he was interested in natural and state sciences. He had to earn money for studies and so he worked as a private teacher of children from rich families. Studies at Vienna’s University were easy for him and so he went to study on University in Leipzig.

There he met his future wife Charlotte Garrigue from United States of America. Her surname behind Masaryk’s first name is symbol of a fortunate marrige. After his habilitation for senior lecturer at Vienna University they lived in Vienna in very modest conditions. In 1882 he went back to Prague where he taught at afresh opened Charles University.

In the 1890s he began to assert himself more in politics. He was a member of Youngczech party and Imperial Council in years 1891 - 1893. But this politics was at variance with his principles and so after he left Imperial Council, he again gave himself up to problem of new national political programme.

It was typical for Masaryk that he entered to all social and political contests with outstanding personal bravery and dauntlesstion. From the beginning of our century he was aware of new problems in whole Europe which would result in a big shock. In 1907 he became a member of Imperial Council for the second time.

At the beginning of The First World War he was 64 years old so he decided to emigrate at the end 1914. In 1915 in Switzerland there he proclaimed national revolt against Habsburgs. He risked not only his life but also the life of his family that stayed in Prague. He took on role of a leader of national and democratic revolution. He conducted negotiations in France, England, Russia, United States of America and other countries. He organized foreign army - legions of Czech and Slovak volunteers.

At the end of the revolt he made Declaration of independence - Washington’s declaration which established Czechoslovak rebublic on 18th October. In the new republic there T.G.Masaryk was elected the first president by National Council on 11th November 1918, he was elected again in years 1920, 1927, 1934. He died in Lány in 1937.

He wanted Czechoslovakia to be an independent and democratic state.

I chose Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk because I think that he was really outstanding Czech personality. He was president of our country for the longest time - 17 years. He founded Czechoslovakia and risked his life for independent state.