Charles Bacik (; 25 June 1910 – 11 July 1991) was a Czech-Irish glass manufacturer and co-founder of the modern
Waterford Glass
Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the i ...
.
Biography
He was born in
Nová Říše in Bohemia, then a part of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. He went on to study and graduated from
Charles University in Prague, and began working in
Bohemian glass
Bohemian glass, also referred to as Bohemia crystal, is glass produced in the regions of Bohemia and Silesia, now parts of the Czech Republic. It has a centuries long history of being internationally recognised for its high quality, craftsmanship, ...
manufacturing in
Světlá nad Sázavou in 1935. By the time of the Communist takeover, he owned four glass factories.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
he was imprisoned by the Nazis.
In 1946, as his factories were nationalised, he emigrated to Ireland. In 1947, in partnership with a Dublin gift shop owner, Bernard Fitzpatrick, he started Waterford Glass. In 1950, the company was in financial difficulties and he ceded ownership to the
Irish Glass Bottle Company. He continued to work for the company as a manager until 1974 and as a board member until 1984. He died in
Fiddown
Fiddown () is a small village in Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the south of the county just off the N24 road, 58 kilometres from Kilkenny city. The village is on the banks of the River Suir, near the border with County Waterford to which ...
, County Kilkenny, Ireland.
His granddaughter,
Ivana Bacik
Ivana Catherine Bacik (born 25 May 1968) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Leader of the Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency since winning a by-election on 9 July 2 ...
, is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
politician and academic.
References
Sources
* Brian F. Havel, ''Maestro of Crystal'', Currach Press, 2005, biography of
Miroslav Havel, a glass designer who worked with Bacik both in Czechoslovakia and Ireland.
1910 births
1991 deaths
Glass makers
Czechoslovak emigrants to Ireland
People from Nová Říše
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