Karel Čapek

Karel Čapek was born on January 9, 1890, in Malé Svatoňovice, Eastern Bohemia. From his school years, he began publishing short stories and poems. He studied philosophy at the University of Prague and, after graduating, collaborated with his brother (a painter, set designer, and art critic who died in 1945 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp) in writing short stories and plays. In 1920, he wrote the play "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots"), introducing the word "robot" to all languages worldwide. In 1921, he published the play "The Insect Play" and the short story collection "Money and Other Stories." In 1922, he released the science fiction story "The Absolute at Large," and in 1923, the play "The Makropulos Affair." In 1924, he published another science fiction story, "Krakatit." In 1927, he wrote the drama "Adam the Creator." Other works include the novel trilogy: "Hordubal" (1933), "Meteor" (1935), "An Ordinary Life" (1936). In the same year, "War with the Newts" was released. In 1937, he published "The First Rescue Party" and "The White Disease," which attacked totalitarianism. In 1938, "Mother" and "Power and Glory" were published. He began working on "Fraud," which remained unfinished due to his sudden death, resulting from his efforts to avoid persecution by the Nazi Gestapo.