Významné osobnosti - Featured Individuals
-1941.jpg) Bohumil (i) VOLESKÝ, komerční rada, podnikatel, továrník, successful entrepreneur |
Narozen / Born : |
Bohumil (i) VOLESKÝ - this ‘jolly good fellow’ accomplished quite something in his life. He grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the family emigrated from Votice, Czech Rep., when he was a baby not even a year old. They must have made a very good life for themselves there as father František progressed to higher-up managerial positions in the St. Petersburg slaughter house. At Bohumil’s 18 years of age, they returned back to Praha as a wealthy family.
They bought an apartment building in a fast-growing quarter Praha-Vinohrady. Following Bohumil’s graduation from a middle school of commerce, he started an enterprise that focused on manufacturing of wood-working machinery – probably with his parents’ financial assistance. The self-made entrepreneur worked hard and guided the growth of the company (Bohumil Voleský, Ltd.) from the humble beginnings in 1892 somewhere in Praha-Karlín (or Praha- Libeň) into a manufacturing plant in Praha-Libeň, Ocelářská 9 that employed more than 100 technically highly skilled people producing large industrial wood saws, lathes, drilling and milling machines.
The dust of World War 2 has not even settled yet when the new Czech government applied a presidential decree and nationalized (expropriated without compensation) all primary-industry enterprises. Unfortunately, because of its foundry operation (considered the ‘primary industry’), Bohumil’s company fell under this category – and one day morning in 1945, the founder, owner and President Bohumil was turned away by armed militia guards at the gates. No access, no recourse, as simple as that – all he worked for all his life – gone. |
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 Václav KORDA, Pilot a Painter, manager, Colonel and Squadron Leader RAF (Royal Air Force, UK). |
Narozen / Born : |
plk. Václav KORDA - Distinguished Flying Cross - RAF, England Relatively few people belong to the category of war heroes – who survived. Václav did. He was a commercial pilot, one of the first ones, with the Czech Airlines. Listening to the call of duty in his heart, he dramatically escaped the invading German nazi armies at the beginning of World War 2. Sneaking through Poland, Sweden and France he reached the UK and joined the RAF to become a bomber pilot with the 311th Czech RAF Bomber Squadron. Miraculously, and through his skills, he survived the hell of war bombing missions, transported bomber planes from North America to the UK, patrolled the Biscayne Bay. With his motto “I left to return” he did so in 1945, back to Praha and started building the post-war Czech Airlines again. He was a pilot of choice for many a top politicians - only to find himself in the cross-hair of the communist regime that was out to punish the former ‘western’ soldiers and fliers in particular. Václav did not hesitate – walking in his short sleeves to ‘check the papers’ of an american Panam clipper readying for take-off on the Praha airport tarmac: “Let’s go, Joe” he then instructed a friendly colleague Panam pilot – and ended up in the USA. To start a new life on the new continent in a new way. Not easy, but he eventually became a Vice-President of a major aircraft service company at the Kennedy International Airport in NY. Yes, he visited the Czech Republic in 1990 when it became free again, after his long exile. Later in his life he found solace and peace in painting and his brilliant oils please many people who acquired them. Korda’s account of his war years “Pilotem RAF” (in Czech) makes for a worthwhile reading. We can only salute his glorious life without compromise. |
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 Karel KACHYŇA movie director |
Narozen / Born : Vyškov, Czech Rep. 1924-5-1 Zemřel / Died : Praha 2004-3-13 |
Karel KACHYŇA - absolvoval FAMU v Praze roku 1951, kde začal natáčet dokumentární snímky se spolužákem Vojtěchem Jasným (1950 NIC NENÍ ZAMRAČENO, 1952 NEOBYČEJNÁ LÉTA, 1953 LIDÉ JEDNOHO SRDCE). Později debutovali i s hraným filmem (1955 DNES VEČER VŠECHNO SKONČÍ) - ovlivněni však režimní propagandou. Kachyňa ji sám i nadále sleduje a roku 1959 natáčí rozporuplný film KRÁL ŠUMAVY. Vojenská a válečná tématika se drží i dalších Kachyňových děl (1955 ZTRACENÁ STOPA, 1958 TENKRÁT O VÁNOCÍCH, 1960 PRÁČE). Silný umělecký vzestup Karla Kachyňi byl zaznamenán jeho setkáním se scénáristou Janem Procházkou. Spolu tvořili po celá šedesátá léta : TRÁPENÍ (1962 - Velká cena mezinárodní poroty na filmovém festivalu v Cannes, cena poroty na Mezinárodním filmovém festivalu v Mar del Plata, Stříbrná gondola a stříbrná Minerva na Mezinárodním festivalu filmů pro mládež v Benátkách, VYSOKÁ ZEĎ (1954 -Stříbrná plachta na Mezinárodním filmovém festivalu v Locarnu a AŤ ŽIJE REPUBLIKA (1965 - "Nejlepší film" v Mar del Plata.). Mezi nejdůležitější patří společenská traumata natočené ve druhé půli šedesátých let: KOČÁR DO VÍDNĚ (1966), NOC NEVĚSTY (1967), SMĚŠNÝ PÁN (1969), kterými se Kachyňa zařazuje po bok mladých režisérů nové vlny. V koprodukci se Západním Německem vzniká snímek UŽ ZASE SKÁČU PŘES KALUŽE (1970), vypravující příběh chlapce postiženého ochrnutím, jež se postaví svému handicapu (Zlatá lastura v San Sebastian) . Vášnivé výpovědi vzniklé ve spolupráci Kachyňi s Procházkou jsou zakončeny dramatem UCHO (1970). Klaustrofobický snímek, ve kterém je vyobrazen strach, s nímž se během vlády totalitního režimu potýkali i největší mocenské špičky. Po 30 let zakázaný film se později dočkal nominace na Zlatou palmu v Cannes. Tím také končí Kachyňova spolupráce s Procházkou. V 70. tých dochází k menšímu odmlčení, až na přelomu 70. – 80. let filmem LÁSKY MEZI KAPKAMI DEŠTĚ (1979), s bravurním hereckým výkonem Vladimíra Menšíka, navazuje na svou předchozí tvorbu. Následují filmy s doktorskou tématikou: POZOR VIZITA (1981) a SESTŘIČKY (1983), kde v hlavní roli vynikla Kachyňova budoucí žena Alena Mihulová, či tragikomedie FANDY, Ó FANDY (1982). Zároveň také od sklonku 70-tých let pracuje pro televizi: ZLATÍ ÚHOŘI (1979). Od Otty Pavla později uvádí do filmové podoby i povídku SMRT KRÁSNÝCH SRNCŮ (1986), a dále: POČÍTÁNÍ OVEČEK (1981), DUHOVÁ KULIČKA (1986) nebo jeden z nejpozoruhodnějších českých seriálů VLAK DĚTSTVÍ A NADĚJE (1985). Poslední filmové úspěchy Karla Kachyňi jsou rovněž spjaté s televizní obrazovkou KOŽENÉ SLUNCE (2002), OTEC NEZNÁMÝ (2001). Některé jeho původně televizní projekty skončily i na plátnech kin – MĚSTEM CHODÍ MIKLUÁŠ (1992), KRÁVA (1994), FANNY (1995), HANELE (1999). Nedlouho před smrtí dokončuje svůj poslední televizní film vyprávějící příběh dvou pasažérů parního válce CESTA BYLA SUCHÁ MÍSTY MOKRÁ (2003). Usiloval ještě o práva na natočení filmu podle knihy Bohumila Hrabala "Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále", který nakonec natočil Jiří Menzel v roce 2006. |
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 Tom FOX opera barytone |
Living - |
Tom FOX - performs regularly at the most important and prestigious opera houses in the world. In North America, he has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Washington Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Minnesota Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Vancouver Opera, and Canadian Opera Company, among others. Internationally, he has appeared at such opera companies and music festivals as Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich . . . , Deutsche Oper, Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna, Oper Frankfurt, L’Opera de Paris, Teatro dell’Opera, Rome, Opera de Nice, Opera de Montpellier, Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg, the Festspielhaus und Festspiel Baden-Baden, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Reggio di Torino, Opéra National de la Monnaie, Brussels, Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Teatro Municipal, Santiago, as well as the Salzburg Festival and the Savonlinna Festival. |
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 Karel (i-Veliký) MATOUŠ, farmer and entrepreneur |
Narozen / Born : Katusice, Czech Rep. 1849-1-28 Zemřel / Died : Katusice 1898-3-21 |
Karel (i) MATOUŠ - an eminently successful farmer (statkář) in Katusice, Nové Dvory and Bohnice started with his inherited Katusice family homestead farm as a first-born male, he managed it with quite a success. His hard work, leadership and contacts enabled him to commit to renting and managing a large farming operation (velkostatek, owned by count Chotek) in Nové Dvory by Kutná Hora in Czech Republic. Successful operation of this enterprise provided a solid financial platform for Karel to acquire his own large farm in Praha-Bohnice that well prospered under his management. |
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 Bohumil (iii) VOLESKÝ, PhD, Ing. University Professor |
Living - Permanent residence |
Bohumil (iii) VOLESKY - now a Professor Emeritus, grew up in Praha, Czech Rep., obtaining also his basic university training at the Czech Technical University in Praha - receiving the Dipl. Ing. degree in 1962. Following his emigration to Canada (1967) to crown his studies with a PhD (doctorate) degree that he earned at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, in 1971. After that, he accepted a Profesorial position with the Department of Chemical Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. As he worked his way to a Full Professorship, he lectured and carried out research, participating also in world-wide consulting activities, seminars and workshops. He has been recognized for his expert contribution in Biochemical Engineering and Industrial Water Pollution Control. He is the founder and a President of BV SORBEX, Inc., a new-technology venture commercializing the biosorption process for removal and recovery of heavy metals from industrial solutions which he has been pioneering in his research. He held appointments as a Visiting Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the University of Puerto Rico, and his major collaborative research activities included also China, Brazil, Korea - and the Czech Republic. His research interests and expertise are reflected in a monograph book on "Sorption and Biosorption" (2003), an edited volume "Biosorption of Heavy Metals", and in another monograph on "Modeling and Optimization of Fermentation Processes". A distinguished career in a foreign country overseas - |