Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk: (1850-1937) President of Czechoslovakia

Thomas Masaryk was born in Hodonin Moravia (then part of the Austrian empire) on March 7, 1850 into a working class family. In 1882 he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at the Czech University in Prague.  The next year, he published the magazine Athenaeum, devoted to Czech culture and science. 

During World War I, he argued for Czech independence in Switzerland, France, Britain, Italy, Russia, and the United States. In 1917, he took permission from Bolshevik leaders to organize the Czech Legion. When he arrived in the United States, President Wilson recognized him as leader of an independent state on September 3, 1918.

In 1918, he was elected "president and liberator" of Czechoslovakia. He was reelected in 1920, 1927, and 1934. In 1935, at the age of eight-five he retired. Masaryk died in Castle Lana on September 14, 1937.”

Photographs:

Further Reading:

Radio Prague, Czechs in History, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk

Utah State University Libraries, Tomas Masaryk Collection

T. Mills Kelly, Virtual Archive of Central European History, Masaryk