Karel Čapek

Born in Bohemia in 1890, Karel Čapek became one of the most important Czech writers of the 20th century. He worked as a playwright, novelist, journalist, and critic, and wrote with unusual range: science fiction, political satire, travel writing, detective tales, and reflective newspaper columns.

He is most famous internationally for the play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), which introduced the word "robot," and for the novel War with the Newts. His work often explored the promises and dangers of modern life, especially the way science, industry, and ideology can overpower ordinary human values.

Čapek was also known for his public voice as a journalist and for his warnings about authoritarianism in Europe during the 1930s. He died in Prague in 1938, but his writing remains lively and accessible: witty on the surface, deeply thoughtful underneath.