Vojtěch Náprstek (often called Vojta) (17 April 1826, in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

– 2 September 1894), was a philanthropist from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. He was a Czech patriot and politician, as well as a pioneering

Czech language Czech ( ; ), historically known as Bohemian ( ; ), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 12 million people including second language speakers, it serves as the official language of the ...

journalist in the United States.

Background

Vojtěch Náprstek was born Adalbert Fingerhut. His father Anton Fingerhut had the German name as the only one of seven siblings – the others were called by the Czech version of the name Náprstek. (The German word fingerhut and the Czech word naprstek can be translated as thimble in English.) Adalbert officially changed his name to Vojtěch Náprstek in 1880 but he had been using the Czech name far earlier. His mother, Anna Fingerhut-Náprstková (1788–1873), was a nationalist businesswoman who ran a brewery/

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

and adjoining

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

, "U Halánků", hospitable to budding nationalist organizations. That building still stands and is located on Bethlehem Square(Betlémské náměstí) in Prague and it is known as Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures. Both Vojtěch and his elder brother Ferdinand, outspoken nationalists, were closely watched by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

police. After the disastrous results of the Prague Upheavals of 1848, Vojtěch left home in secret for the United States, where he finished his law studies.

1848 and America

He secretly fled to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, where he lived for about a decade before returning home, completing his law studies. He is considered to be the spiritual father of Czech journalism in America. He published the freethinking newspaper the '' Milwaukee Flügblatter'', the first periodical published by a Czech in the United States. Although the ''Flügblatter'' was in the German language, it was read largely by Czechs. Naprstek encouraged

Czech American Czech Americans (), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority of the traditional l ...

s to organize and publish their own Czech newspapers. He became an American citizen.

Return to Bohemia

He returned to

around 1857, and resumed political activities. After his return, he labored to familiarize his fellow Czechs with American concepts, institutions, and techniques, as well as with the Native American peoples with whom he had worked. He helped fellow Czech patriot Charles Jonas learn English, and arranged for his flight to London, and later immigration to

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

. His collections became the core of the present

Náprstek Museum The Náprstek Museum (Czech: ''Náprstkovo muzeum'') is a museum of Asian, African and Native American art located in Bethlehem Square () in Prague, Czech Republic. It is one of several permanent exhibitions of the National Museum. The museum ...

of Asian, African, and American cultures in Prague. He became an alderman of the town of Prague (1873–1894) and a town councillor (1881–1892). Náprstek was an advocate of progressive ideas, including general living conditions in Prague, as well as the provision of education and health care facilities and the introduction of modern technologies in public life (gas lighting and cooking, the telephone, etc.). He also co-founded, in 1888, the Czech Hiking Club ''(Klub českých turistů)''. He was initiated into

freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

during his life in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. After his return to the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

he founded small masonic illegal groups for propagation of masonic ideals.

Women's rights

When he returned to Prague after ten years abroad, his speeches and presentations about activities established by American women attracted a great deal of attention. Around 1864 he organised an exhibition of American sewing machines (until then unknown in Prague) together with demonstrations on how to use them, which was heavily visited by women. In 1865 he funded the founding of the "Americký klub dám" (American Ladies’ Club or American Club of Bohemian Women), which held its first meetings on the premises of his mother's inn "U Halánků". The club offered lectures on questions of women's emancipation, astronomy, medicine, biology, philosophy, literature, history and many other topics. The free lectures were given to women on Sunday mornings; men were allowed to listen to them from the lobby. During the twenty years of this lecture series almost 27,000 listeners were registered. The members of the American Ladies’ Club could also use Náprstek's library of Czech books, as well as books written in English and other foreign languages. This patronage, as well as his public advocacy of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

as early as 1887, brought Náprstek the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

"the women’s advocate". The organization was looked upon askance by the authorities, and was forced to function as a

private club A club is an association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, political and religious ...

rather than as a

civic organization Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

.Stanton, Theodore. ''The Woman Question in Europe'' (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1882); pp. 452–53.

Sources

Czech Pioneers in Wisconsin
by Miloslav Rechcigl Jr., accessed 9 December 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naprstek, Vojtech 1826 births 1894 deaths Politicians from Prague Czech activists Czech feminists Journalists from the Austrian Empire Linguists from the Austrian Empire Forty-Eighters Czech language activists Politicians from Milwaukee Journalists from Wisconsin American male feminists American feminists Emigrants from the Austrian Empire Czech nationalists Philanthropists from Bohemia Czech Freemasons 19th-century American journalists American male journalists Writers from Prague 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American philanthropists