He had an older sister Helena (born in 1886) and an older brother named Josef (born in 1887), with whom he often collaborated on his writings. Karel Čapek, the youngest of Antonín and Božena’s three children, was born on January 9, 1890, in Malé Stratoňovice, a mining town located in present-day Czech Republic. Gentlemen, it was a great thing.” ~ Karel Čapek, R.U.R Suddenly I'm conscious of a million sensations buzzing in me like bees in a hive. “It was a great thing to be a human being. Through his unforgettable works, he expressed his concern for violence in the world, absolute power, and greed, trying to find hope through humor and warning his countrymen of a looming darkness that culminated in WWII. Čapek is noted for his influence on modern Czech literature as well as the development of Czech as a written language. Many of his works debate ethical aspects of industrial inventions including mass production, nuclear weapons, and artificial intelligence. ( Rossum's Universal Robots), which made famous the word “robot” and centers on machines dominating the human race with the threat of extinction. His plays appeared on Broadway soon after debuting in Prague, and his books have been translated into many languages. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature and called a forerunner to such renowned science fiction writers as George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.

Known as a playwright, novelist, short story writer, journalist, children’s author, biographer, and essayist, he wrote on such topics as nationalism, totalitarianism, and consumerism. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of Czech writer Karel Čapek (Janu– December 25, 1938). “Nothing is stranger to man than his own image.” ~ Karel Čapek, R.U.R.

R.U.R. by Josef/Karel Capek