Life story
Jaroslav Hašek was born in 1883 in Prague. His father, a mathematics teacher, died prematurely, which marked the family deeply. As a young man, Hašek was already involved in political life — in 1907 he was editor of an anarchist journal and was imprisoned shortly after.
He made his living by writing. By 1909 he had already published sixty-four short stories, and a year later he became editor of the journal Svět zvířat. In 1911 he founded the satirical Party of Moderate Progress within the Bounds of the Law, and that same year published the first story about the good soldier Švejk.
In 1915 he enlisted, in September he was taken prisoner and in Russia he joined the Czechoslovak legions; later he served in the Red Army. He returned to Czechoslovakia in December 1920 with his wife Alexandra. In August 1921 he moved to Lipnice nad Sázavou and began writing The Good Soldier Švejk — a book that is, after the Bible, one of the most translated Czech books ever.
He died on 3 January 1923 in Lipnice nad Sázavou; the novel remained unfinished.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).
Constellation of Life
Important milestones that shaped their journey.