Albert Škarvan (31 January 1869 – 30 March 1926) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Slovak physician, writer, translator, and
Esperantist.
Biography
Škarvan was born in Turdossin,
Austria-Hungary (present-day
Tvrdošín
Tvrdošín (german: Turdoschin or ''Thurdossin''; hu, Turdossin; pl, Twardoszyn) is a town in central Slovakia.
Geography
The town is located at the confluence of the Orava and Oravica rivers, from the Polish borders and cca. from Dolný Kub ...
,
Slovakia). He studied medicine in various towns in
Upper Hungary from 1878 to 1886, in
Budapest from 1886 to 1887, at the
University of Prague from 1887 to 1891, and in
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
from 1891 to 1894. He began work as a doctor in
Košice
Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...
(Kassa) in 1895 before moving to Russia in 1896, England in 1897, and Switzerland in 1898. In 1895, Škarvan was arrested for refusing military service.
Škarvan was the personal doctor of
Leo Tolstoy and translated some of his works.
He began writing for the ''Medzinárodná spoločenská revue'' newspaper in 1906.
In 1907, Škarvan published a Slovak translation of in collaboration with N.P. Evstifeev as the first Slovak language Esperanto textbook.
He represented Slovak Esperantists at the third
World Esperanto Congress
The World Esperanto Congress ( eo, Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 113 years. The congresses have be ...
in 1907. Škarvan returns to Austria-Hungary in 1910, but he was arrested as a suspected spy in
World War I and held until the end of the war. He died in 1926.
Notable works
* (Notes of a Military Doctor, 1920)
See also
*
Esperanto in Slovakia
Esperanto has been used in Slovakia since the 19th century. The Slovak Esperanto movement was suppressed by Nazi and Communist regimes in the 20th century before being restored in 1969. Slovakia is home to the Summer Esperanto Study and the Con ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Škarvan, Albert
1869 births
1926 deaths
19th-century Slovak writers
20th-century Slovak writers
Slovak Esperantists
Slovak male writers
Slovak non-fiction writers
Slovak translators
Physicians from Austria-Hungary