Jan Václav Novák

Born on December 21, 1853, in Račice near Smiřice, Jan Václav Novák became a Czech secondary-school professor, literary historian, and translator. He studied at Charles University in Prague, earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1877, and then taught at grammar schools in places including Olomouc, Brno, Valašské Meziříčí, and later Prague.

His scholarly work centered on Czech literary history and education. He was especially known as a Comenius specialist, editing the writings of Jan Amos Komenský and publishing studies connected with the history of schooling and воспитание. He also edited older Czech texts and translated literature for young readers, combining careful scholarship with a practical interest in education.

Novák died in Prague on April 30, 1920. His reputation rests on the steady, behind-the-scenes work that keeps a literary culture alive: teaching, editing, translating, and making important historical writers accessible to later generations.