Czech It Out

About the Book

Czech it Out: Czech American Biography Sourcebook provides a wealth of information on a variety of sources relating to biographical information on notable Americans with Czech roots. Besides the national figures, also included are information sources on significant individuals at the state, regional, and local levels. Beyond that, we saw it fit to also incorporate ethnic information sources, which frequently contain a wealth of information on pioneer settlers and individuals active at the community level. Having in mind the interests of genealogists in individual families and their descendents, a listing has also been provided on family histories and genealogies. Even though Czechs have been living in the US practically since colonial times, no composite biographical dictionary exists about the accomplished Czech Americans. Biographical information about them is scattered in a plethora of sources, which are difficult to find and some are not readily accessible. The present author, who, literally, devoted several decades of his life to the study of Czech-American history, has canvassed hundreds of sources at national and local levels to identify, not only notable individuals but also pioneer settlers who played a significant role in the growth and development of the US. This publication should fill a great void in literature until a comprehensive biographical compendium about Czech Americans has been written.

About the Author

Mila Rechcigl as he likes to be called, is a versatile person with many talents, a man of science and organization professionally, and renaissance man by breadth of his knowledge and scholarly interests. Born in Czechoslovakia to a son of the youngest member of the Czechoslovak Parliament, he spent the war years under Nazi occupation and after the Communist’s coup d’état escaped to the West and immigrated to the US. He received training as biochemist at Cornell University and later served as a research biochemist at NIH. Following his additional training, he became a science administrator, first at the DHEW and later at US Department of State and AID. Apart from his scientific and science administrative pursuits, he served as an editor of several scientific series and authored more than thirty books and handbooks. Beyond that, he is considered an authority on immigration history, on which subject he had written extensively. He was also one of the founders of the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences (SVU) and for many years served as its president.