Karel Čapek

Born in Malé Svatoňovice in 1890, Karel Čapek became one of the most important Czech writers of the 20th century. He studied philosophy in Prague, Berlin, and Paris, and went on to work not only as a novelist and playwright but also as a critic and journalist.

He is especially remembered for the play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), which introduced the word "robot" to the wider world, and for War with the Newts, a sharp, imaginative novel that mixed science fiction with social satire. Across his work, he returned again and again to big questions about modern life, power, invention, and human responsibility.

In the 1930s, Čapek’s writing became more openly political as he warned against fascism and authoritarianism. He died in 1938, but his work has endured because it is both inventive and deeply humane, pairing bold ideas with a clear concern for ordinary people.