Karel Čapek

Karel Čapek (1890 - 1938) was a Czech author, playwright and critic best known for his contributions to the science fiction genre. Born in Malé Svatoňovice, Čapek was the youngest child of a doctor and a homemaker, he had a successful albeit turbulent academic career, ending with the reception of his Doctorate of Philosophy in 1915. Getting his professional start to writing as a journalist and editor for Národní listy (The National Newspaper) with his brother Josef, Čapek saw his first success with the publication of Rossum's Universal Robots. The play was a critical darling and is known for its introduction of the word "robot," to the English language and the science fiction genre at large. He went on to write five more plays including Pictures from the Insects' Life (1921) The Makropulos Affair (1922) as well as at least a dozen more books varying from fiction to non-fiction.