Today Google Czech Republic and Slovakia celebrates the birthday of one of the great Czech writers, Karel Capek (1890-1938), whose impact stretches well beyond the printed word. His science fiction pioneered social commentary on totalitarianism and dystopia, which would later be taken up in the works of Bradbury, Huxley, and Orwell. He was also the first author to use the word robot from robota (serf labor) which he says was coined by his brother and fellow writer Josef Capek. When Czechoslovakia was taken over by the Nazis , Capek refused to flee and was labeled public enemy number 2. He died on Christmas Day 1938 from pneumonia while his brother died later in the war in a Concentration Camp. I personally had never heard of this great writer before Google’s celebration of his life and am very happy that Google honored him by remembering and spreading his legacy.
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