The Most Famous
SOCIAL ACTIVISTS from Czechia
This page contains a list of the greatest Czech Social Activists. The pantheon dataset contains 840 Social Activists, 6 of which were born in Czechia. This makes Czechia the birth place of the 27th most number of Social Activists behind Canada, and Indonesia.
Top 7
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Czech Social Activists of all time. This list of famous Czech Social Activists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.
1. Jan Hus (1369 - 1415)
With an HPI of 84.26, Jan Hus is the most famous Czech Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 80 different languages on wikipedia.
Jan Hus (; Czech: [ˈjan ˈɦus] ; c. 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Goose or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as Iohannes Hvs or Johannes Huss, was a Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and the inspiration of Hussitism, a key predecessor to Protestantism, and a seminal figure in the Bohemian Reformation. Hus is considered to be the first Church reformer, even though some designate the theorist John Wycliffe. His teachings had a strong influence, most immediately in the approval of a reformed Bohemian religious denomination and, over a century later, on Martin Luther. After being ordained as a Catholic priest, Hus began to preach in Prague. He opposed many aspects of the Catholic Church in Bohemia, such as its views on ecclesiology, simony, the Eucharist, and other theological topics. Hus was a master, dean, and rector at the Charles University in Prague between 1409 and 1410. Alexander V issued a Papal bull that excommunicated Hus; however, it was not enforced, and Hus continued to preach. Hus then spoke out against Alexander V's successor, Antipope John XXIII, for his selling of indulgences. Hus' excommunication was then enforced, and he spent the next two years living in exile. When the Council of Constance assembled, Hus was asked to be there and present his views on the dissension within the Church. When he arrived, with a promise of safe-conduct, he was arrested and put in prison. He was eventually taken in front of the council and asked to recant his views. He refused. On 6 July 1415, he was burned at the stake for "heresy" against the teachings of the Catholic Church. After Hus was executed, the followers of his religious teachings (known as Hussites) refused to elect another Catholic monarch and defeated five consecutive papal crusades between 1420 and 1431 in what became known as the Hussite Wars. Both the Bohemian and the Moravian populations remained majority Hussite until the 1620s, when a Protestant defeat in the Battle of the White Mountain resulted in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown coming under Habsburg dominion for the next 300 years and being subject to immediate and forced conversion to Catholicism in an intense campaign.
2. Bertha von Suttner (1843 - 1914)
With an HPI of 79.56, Bertha von Suttner is the 2nd most famous Czech Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 86 different languages.
Baroness Bertha Sophie Felicitas von Suttner (Austrian German: [ˈbɛrtaː fɔn ˈzʊtnɐ]; née Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau; 9 June 1843 – 21 June 1914) was an Austro-Bohemian noblewoman, pacifist and novelist. In 1905, she became the second female Nobel laureate (after Marie Curie in 1903), the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first Austrian and Czech laureate.
3. Jan Palach (1948 - 1969)
With an HPI of 75.04, Jan Palach is the 3rd most famous Czech Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 59 different languages.
Jan Palach (Czech pronunciation: [jan ˈpalax]; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation in 1969 at the age of 20 was a political protest against the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 which brought an end to the Prague Spring.
4. Emilie Schindler (1907 - 2001)
With an HPI of 68.09, Emilie Schindler is the 4th most famous Czech Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.
Emilie Schindler (German: [eˈmiːli̯ə ˈʃɪndlɐ] ; née Pelzl [ˈpɛltsl̩]; 22 October 1907 – 5 October 2001) was a Sudeten German-born woman who, with her husband Oskar Schindler, helped to save the lives of 1,200 Jews during World War II by employing them in his enamelware and munitions factories, providing them immunity from the Nazis. She was recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Israel's Yad Vashem in 1994.
5. Joseph von Sonnenfels (1732 - 1817)
With an HPI of 60.35, Joseph von Sonnenfels is the 5th most famous Czech Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Joseph Freiherr von Sonnenfels (1732 – 25 April 1817) was an Austrian and German jurist and novelist. He was among the leaders of the Illuminati movement in Austria, and a close friend and patron of Mozart. He is also the dedicatee of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 15, Op. 28, which was published in 1801.
6. Miroslav Tyrš (1832 - 1884)
With an HPI of 57.89, Miroslav Tyrš is the 6th most famous Czech Social Activist. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Miroslav Tyrš (born Friedrich Emanuel Tirsch, in Czech: Bedřich Tyrš; 17 September 1832 – 8 August 1884) was a Czech philosopher, art historian, sports organizer and together with Jindřich Fügner the cofounder of the Sokol movement.
7. Elena Gorolová (b. 1969)
With an HPI of 41.89, Elena Gorolová is the 7th most famous Czech Social Activist. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Elena Gorolová (born 2 January 1969) is a Czech Romani human rights defender and women's reproductive rights activist. After being forcefully sterilized at the age of 21, Gorolová began campaigning for Romani women's rights to bodily autonomy and for compensation for victims of forced sterilization. She testified in front of the United Nations and was declared one of the BBC's 100 inspiring and influential women. After a Czech law promising to compensate the victims of forced sterilization was passed, she announced that she would refocus on campaigning against discrimination in maternity wards.
People
Pantheon has 7 people classified as Czech social activists born between 1369 and 1969. Of these 7, 1 (14.29%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Czech social activists include Elena Gorolová. The most famous deceased Czech social activists include Jan Hus, Bertha von Suttner, and Jan Palach. As of April 2024, 1 new Czech social activists have been added to Pantheon including Elena Gorolová.
Living Czech Social Activists
Go to all RankingsDeceased Czech Social Activists
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Jan Hus
1369 - 1415
HPI: 84.26
Bertha von Suttner
1843 - 1914
HPI: 79.56
Jan Palach
1948 - 1969
HPI: 75.04
Emilie Schindler
1907 - 2001
HPI: 68.09
Joseph von Sonnenfels
1732 - 1817
HPI: 60.35
Miroslav Tyrš
1832 - 1884
HPI: 57.89
Newly Added Czech Social Activists (2025)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Social Activists were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Social Activists since 1700.
