Jan Slavomír Tomíček, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Jan Slavomír Tomíček

Czech historian and publicist

Date of Birth: 16-Jul-1806

Place of Birth: Jilemnice, Liberec Region, Czech Republic

Date of Death: 28-Apr-1866

Profession: writer, historian, journalist

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Jan Slavomír Tomícek (1806, in Branná by Jilemnice – 28 April 1866, in Prague) was a Czech writer, journalist, historian and ethnologist.
He graduated from a gymnasium in Jicín and studied philosophy in Prague.
He did not graduate, though, as he left in an effort to become an independent writer.
Very soon, however, he had to start giving private lessons to earn enough money.
He was a member of the fellowship of the magazine Cechoslav; he also contributed to Svetozor published by Pavel Josef Šafarík, and in 1834 he became an editor of Pražské noviny (The Prague News).
He was invited to join this newspaper by F.
L.
Celakovský.
A criticism of the Russian tsar, written by the liberal-minded Tomícek, cost Celakovský his position.
Tomícek contributed to other magazines as well, and also translated.
He published several books, of which Doba prwního clowecenstwa (The Age of the First Man, publ.
by Matice ceská, 1846) in particular outraged the censorship and the Archbishop of Prague so much that it threatened the existence of its publishing house.
In 1848 he became a substitute teacher of the Czech language at Charles University and an associate member of the Royal Czech Society of Sciences.
However, he never attained a university professorship, which, together with facing poverty, made him feel disillusioned.
Sadly, the Czechs remember him chiefly for his famous criticism of Máj, published in Ceská wcela (The Czech Bee) in 1836.