List of Slovaks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anton Bernolák, Ľudovít Štúr, Andrej Hlinka, Štefan Banič, Jozef Miloslav Hurban, Aurel Stodola, Adam František Kollár, Milan Hodža, Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Gustáv Husák, Alexander Dubček

The Slovak people are an ethnic group mostly inhabiting the modern-day nation of Slovakia, as well as near surrounding areas. Slovaks have played an active role in European history, including politically, militarily, scientifically, culturally, and religiously. Ethnic Slovaks have inhabited Central Europe since the Middle Ages. Slovaks were minority citizens of Hungary, and subsequently Austria-Hungary, from the 7th Century until the formation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 by the Treaty of Versailles. After Slovak calls for greater autonomy dissolved the Czechoslovak parliament, the Slovak Republic was formed in 1993. The major language among Slovaks is Slovak.

The page lists notable people who are citizens of Slovakia, Czechoslovakia, or are of Slovak identity, ancestry or ethnicity.

Politics[]

Politicians (contemporary)[]

Prime Ministers of the Slovak Republic:

Presidents:

  • Michal Kováč (1930–2016) – First President
  • Rudolf Schuster (1934) – Second President (Schuster is of German and Hungarian ancestry.)
  • Ivan Gašparovič (1941) – Third President (Previously Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic)
  • Andrej Kiska (1963) – Fourth President (Co-founder of a non-profit charitable organization called Dobrý anjel.)
  • Zuzana Čaputová (1973) – Fifth President and First Female President

Speakers of National Council of the Slovak Republic:

Other:

  • Jesse Ventura (1951) – 38th Governor of the U.S. state of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, as well as an actor, author, and former professional wrestler. His parents were from Slovakia, and his legal name is James George Janos.

Politicians (19th and 20th century)[]

  • Alexander Dubček (1921–1992) – First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and architect of the Prague Spring, later after Velvet Rovolution Chairman of Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia
  • Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937) – First President of Czechoslovakia; son of a Slovak father and Moravian mother
  • Milan Rastislav Štefánik (1880–1919) – Astronomer, scientist, politician, and general; one of the founders of Czechoslovakia
  • Gustáv Husák (1913–1991) –First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and President of Czechoslovakia in the 1970s and 1980s
  • Štefan Marko Daxner (1822–1892) – Slovak lower nobleman of Swiss descent, politician, lawyer, and poet who of outlined a program unifying the requests for national (Slovak), cultural, political and social liberties
  • Andrej Hlinka (1864–1938) – Priest and founders of the Slovak People's Party
  • Milan Hodža (1878–1944) – Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, politician and journalist
  • Fedor Hodža (1912–1968) – Politician and lawyer; the son of Milan Hodža.
  • Vojtech Tuka (1880–1946) – Slovak People's Party politician, teacher
  • Alexander Mach (1902–1980) – Slovak People's Party politician, journalist
  • Martin Rázus (1888–1937) – Politician, priest
  • Vavro Šrobár (1867-1950) - was a Slovak doctor and politician who was a major figure in Slovak politics in the interwar period.
  • Jan Šverma (1903–1944) – Partisan and communist politician
  • Jozef Miloslav Hurban (1817–1886) – priest, politician and Speaker of Slovak National Council
  • Michal Miloslav Hodža (1811–1870) – one of the leaders of a Slovak national movement and member of Slovak National Council, Lutheran priest, poet, linguist
  • Vladimír Clementis (1902–1952) – Communist politician
  • Ľudovít Štúr (1815–1856) – the leader of Slovak national movement, the creator of standard Slovak, politician, poet, journalist, publisher, teacher, philosopher and member of the Hungarian Parliament

Fighters, Warriors, Soldiers and Revolutionaries[]

  • Jozef Gabčík (1912–1942) – soldier who assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, architect of the Holocaust, under Operation Anthropoid.
  • Jozef Miloslav Hurban (1817–1886) – freedom fighter and leader of the 1848 Slovak National Uprising against the Hungarians.
  • Rudolf Viest (1890–1945?) – Anti-Fascist military leader, member of the Czechoslovak government in exile, member of the Slovak National Council and the commander of the 1st Czechoslovak army during the Slovak National Uprising. First and only Slovak to reach the position of General in the interwar Czechoslovak Army.
  • Ján Golian (1906–1945?) – Supreme Military Leader of the Slovak National Uprising against the Nazis. Golian was murdered by the Nazis in a concentration camp.
  • Michael Strank – U.S. Marine during World War II; the leader of the group of U.S. marines who photographed in Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
  • Augustín Malár (1894–1946) – WWII General who commanded the East Slovak units of the First Slovak Republic, a Nazi protectorate state. Died in a concentration camp.
  • Jozef Turanec (1892–1957) – Slovak General and Nazi sympathizer during World War II.
  • Matej Kocak (1882–1918) – United States Marine Corps sergeant during World War I, posthumously awarded both the U.S. Army and Navy Medals of Honor for action against the enemy on July 18, 1918. He was born in the town of Gbely, in Western Slovakia, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1906.

First Ladies[]

Religion[]

Notable religious figures[]

Religious Leaders[]

  • Štefan Moyses (1797–1869) – Bishop, patriot and the first president of the Matica Slovenská, the first Slovak cultural institution.
  • Jozef Roháček (1877–1962) – Protestant activist and scholar who translated the first Slovak Bible from the original languages
  • Alexander Rudnay (1760–1831)(hung.: Rudnay Sándor) – Parish priest who became Archbishop of Esztergom, Prince Primate of the Kingdom of Hungary and a Cardinal.
  • Ján Sokol (1933) – Priest and former archbishop of the Archdiocese of Trnava
  • Juraj Haulik (1788–1869) – Croatian Cardinal of Slovak ethnicity and the first archbishop of Zagrab. Acting Ban of Croatia for two separate terms.
  • Jozef Tomko (1924) – Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and former Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
  • Róbert Bezák (1960) – former Archbishop of Trnava

Science and technology[]

Philosophers, Polyhistors, Teachers[]

  • Pavol Jozef Šafárik (Paul Joseph Schaffarik, Pavel Josef Safarik) (1795–1861) – poet, professor, polyhistor
  • Jakob Jakobeus (1591–1645) – poet, historian, priest, and writer

Linguists, Humanists and Historians[]

  • Anton Bernolák (1762–1813) – Lower nobleman, Jesuit, creator of the first standard version of Slovak (in the 1780s), which was based on western Slovak dialects.
  • Ľudovít Štúr (Ludevít Štúr) (1815–1856) – Best known for his role in the development of modern Slovak. In 1844 he suggested that the central Slovak dialect be used as the standard language of the Slovaks, and in 1846 he codified the new language standard in his Nauka reči Slovenskej (Theory of the Slovak Language)
  • Adam František Kollár (Adam Franz Kollar) (1718–1783) – Lower nobleman, historian and jurist who rose to the ranks of Imperial-Royal Court Councilor and Chief Imperial-Royal Librarian of Empress Maria Theresa. Coined the term ethnology.
  • Janko Matúška (1821–1877) – author of the Slovak national anthem
  • Martin Hattala (1821–1903) – linguist

Inventors and Engineers[]

  • Jozef Murgaš (1864–1929) – inventor of the wireless telegraph (forerunner of the radio), and holder of other patents include the spinning reel (for fishing), the wave meter, the electric transformer, the magnetic detector, and an engine producing electromagnetic waves.
  • Aurel Stodola (1859–1942) – engineer and professor, enabled the construction of steam and gas turbines (around 1900), constructor of a movable artificial arm (the Stodola arm) in 1915
  • John Dopyera (Ján Dopjera) (1893–1988) – inventor of music instruments, invented the Dobro resonator guitar

Aviation

  • Ján Bahýľ (1865–1916) – military engineer, inventor of a motor-driven helicopter (four years before Bréguet and Cornu). Bahýľ was granted 7 patents in all, including the invention of the tank pump, air balloons combined with an air turbine, the first petrol engine car in Slovakia (with Anton Marschall) and a lift up to Bratislava castle.
  • Štefan Banič (1870–1941) – inventor of the military parachute and of the first actively used parachute
  • Ivan Alexander Getting (1912–2003) – American physicist and electrical engineer, credited (along with Bradford Parkinson) with the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

Natural Sciences and Medicine[]

  • Vojtech Alexander (1857–1916) – revolutionary radiologist
  • Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (1923–2008) – American physician and Nobel Prize winner of Slovak descent
  • Andreas Jaszlinszky (18th century) – Jesuit physics professor
  • Ján Jesenský (Johann Jessenius) (1566–1621) – physician, surgeon, anatomist, rector of Charles University, Protestant activist and politician
  • Ján Vilček (1933) – biomedical scientist, educator, inventor and philanthropist

Geology, Mineralogy[]

  • Dimitrij Andrusov (1897–1976) – geologist and paleontologist, founder of modern Slovak geology
  • Jan Veizer (1941) – geochemist and paleoclimatologist

Archeology[]

Physics[]

  • Dionýz Ilkovič (1907–1980) – physicist
  • Stefan Janos (1943) – low temperature physicist living in Switzerland
  • Joseph Klafter (1945) – Israeli chemical physics professor of Slovak descent; the eighth President of Tel Aviv University
  • Ivan Wilhelm cs:Ivan Wilhelm (1942) – nuclear physicist, former rector of Charles University in Prague

Mathematics[]

Computer Science[]

Astronomy

  • Matthias Bel – 17th century astronomer. He made first relatively precise measurement of distance from Earth to Sun.

Astronomers (20th century)[]

Astronauts / Cosmonauts[]

  • Ivan Bella (1964) – the first cosmonaut of Slovakia (in 1998)
  • Eugene Cernan (1934) – U.S. astronaut, last man to set foot on the Moon, son of the Slovak immigrant Ondrej Čerňan.
  • Michael Fincke (1967) – U.S. astronaut, current American record holder for time in space, grandson of Margaret Hornyak Fincke

Culture[]

Literature[]

See list of Slovak prose and drama authors.
See list of Slovak poets.

Music[]

Classical[]

Composers[]
Further information: List of Slovak composers
  • Alexander Albrecht (1885–1958) – composer, conductor, teacher
  • Ján Levoslav Bella (1843–1936) – composer, author of the first Slovak opera "Kováč Wieland"
  • Juraj Beneš (1940–2004) – composer
  • Ján Cikker (1911–1989) – composer, teacher
  • Ernő Dohnányi (aka Ernst von Dohnányi) (July 27, 1877 – February 9, 1960) – Hungarian conductor, composer, and pianist.
  • Viliam Figuš-Bystrý (1875–1937) – composer, teacher
  • Tibor Frešo (1918–1987) – composer, conductor
  • Vladimír Godár (1956) – composer
  • Frico Kafenda (1883–1963) – composer, teacher, pianist, conductor
  • Dezider Kardoš (1914–1991) – composer, teacher
  • Ladislav Kupkovič (1936) – composer, conductor
  • Peter Machajdik (1961) – composer, organizer
  • Ján Móry (Johann Mory) (1892–1978) – composer
  • Alexander Moyzes (1906–1984) – composer
  • Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský (1881–1958) – composer
  • Eugen Suchoň (1908–1993) – the most important Slovak composer, author of the first Slovak national opera "Krútňava", teacher
  • Iris Szeghy (1956) – female composer
Conductors[]
Instrumentalists[]
  • (1947) – pianist,[1]
  • Peter Michalica (1945) – violinist
  • (1974) – drummer, pianist, composer[2]
Opera Singers[]

Jazz[]

  • Peter Lipa (1943) – an important current Jazz singer, composer
  • Laco Deczi (1938) – Jazz musician, trumpet player, composer
  • Martin Valihora (1976) – Jazz musician, drummer

Popular Music (20th century)[]

  • Jaroslav Filip (1949–2000) – musician, composer, vocalist, actor, playwright
  • Marika Gombitová (1956) – singer, composer, musician since the second half of the 1970s
  • Dave Grohl (1969) – drummer of Nirvana, singer of Foo Fighters
  • Dara Rolins (1972) – singer, entrepreneur
  • Tina (1984) – singer, musician since the 2000s
  • Pavol Hammel (1948) – singer, composer, musician (reached his height the 1970s and 1980s)
  • Jana Kirschner – musician, composer, vocalist
  • Jana Kocianová (1947) – singer, musician, jazzman, gospels singer reached her height the 1970s
  • Ján Lehotský (1947) – composer, musician, singer of Modus (a band having reached its height in the late 1970s)
  • Rytmus (1977) – rapper, singer, actor, member and co-founder of the hip-hop group Kontrafakt, musician since the 1990s
  • Ivan Tásler (1979) – singer, guitarist, composer, producer, musician since the 1990s
  • Peter Lipa – musician, composer, vocalist, scatman, jazzman, co-organizer of BJD (Bratislava Jazz Days) festival
  • Laco Lučenič (1952) – musician, producer, member of Modus
  • Richard Müller (1961) – the best-known current Slovak pop-rock singer
  • Vašo Patejdl (1954) – the most important Slovak pop composer in the 1980s and 1990s, singer, musician
  • Jozef Ráž (1954) – current singer of Elán (a band having reached its height in the 1980s)
  • Dežo Ursiny (1947–1995) – composer, rock singer, musician in the 1960s and 1970s
  • Marián Varga (1947–2017) – rock composer, musician in the 1960s and 1970s
  • Miroslav Žbirka (1952–2021) – singer, composer from the 1970s to the 1990s
  • Sui Vesan – folk musician

Fine arts[]

Painters, Graphic Artists[]

  • Janko Alexy (1894–1970) – painter
  • Blažej Baláž (1958) – painter, graphic artist
  • Mária Balážová (1956) – painter, graphic artist
  • Miloš Alexander Bazovský (1899–1968) – painter, graphic artist
  • Martin Benka (1888–1971) – painter, illustrator
  • Albín Brunovský (1935–1997) – graphic artist, painter, illustrator
  • Lajos Csordák (1864–1937) – painter
  • Ľudovít Fulla (1902–1980) – painter, graphic artist, illustrator
  • Mikuláš Galanda (1895–1938) – painter, graphic artist, illustrator
  • Ian Hornak (1944–2002) – draughtsman, painter, printmaker
  • Július Jakoby (1903–1985) – painter
  • Ján Kupecký (Johann Kupecky) (1667–1740) – painter
  • Anton Lehmden (1929) – Austrian painter; born in Slovakia
  • Palo Macho (1965) – painter
  • Jozef Teodor Mousson (1887–1946) – painter
  • Koloman Sokol (1902–2003) – painter
  • Karl Sovanka (1883–1961) – painter, sculptor
  • Martin Vargic – graphic artist, illustrator
  • Andy Warhol

Sculptors[]

Photographers[]

  • Dezo Hoffmann (1912–1986) – photoreporter and photographer
  • Tono Stano (1960) – photographer; his photograph Sense inspired the poster for the film Showgirls.

Architects[]

Main article: List of Slovak architects
  • Bohuslav Fuchs (1895–1972) – architect; a Czech also active in Slovakia
  • Dušan Jurkovič (1868–1947) – architect

Film and Theatre[]

Actors[]

  • Andrej Bagar (1900–1966) – actor, director
  • Barbora Bobuľová (1974) – actress
  • Milan Kňažko (1945) – actor, former Slovak Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Culture
  • Jozef Kroner (1924–1998) – actor, starred in the first Czechoslovak, Czech and Slovak film awarded by Oscar: The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, 1965)
  • Juraj Kukura (1947) – well-known Slovak actor (theater, film), who has also been working in Germany.
  • Barbara Nedeljáková (1979) – actress, starred in the Hollywood horror film Hostel
  • Paul Newman (1925–2008) – US actor, director, entrepreneur, philanthropist, of ethnic Slovak mother
  • Emília Vášáryová (1942) – actress
  • Jon Voight (1938) – American actor with Slovak ancestry
  • Karol L. Zachar (1918–2003) – actor, director
  • Tomáš Raček (1947) – Slovak actor (theater, film, TV), who has also been working in Canada
  • Michael Stroka (1938–1997) – US TV actor

Filmmakers[]

  • Paľo Bielik (1910–1983) – director, actor
  • Dušan Hanák (1938) – director
  • Juraj Herz (1934) – Slovak director and actor born in Kežmarok
  • Juraj Jakubisko (1938) – director (sometimes nicknamed Slovak Fellini)
  • Ján Kadár (1918–1979) – director
  • Dušan Rapoš (1953) – Slovak director
  • Ivan Reitman (1946) – probably the most prominent film director and producer born in Slovakia
  • Martin Šulík (1963) – director
  • Pavol Barabáš (1959) – documentarist, noted for filming people living in extreme conditions
  • David Dobrik (1996) – YouTuber, podcaster

Law[]

  • William T. Dzurilla (1953) – international attorney and law clerk to Justice Byron White of the United States Supreme Court (1982–1983).
  • Peter Tomka (1956) – Vice-President of the International Court of Justice

Sports[]

Football[]

Ice hockey[]

See the long list in a separate article.

Tennis[]

Water sports[]

Figure Skating[]

Modelsports[]

  • Jozef Gábriš (Joseph Gabris) – born in Bratislava. Most popular and successful Control Line aerobatics pilot (F2B) of former Czechoslovakia.

Other[]

Historical personalities[]

Models[]

Miscellaneous[]

  • Shlomo Breznitz (born 1936) - Israeli author, psychologist, and president of the University of Haifa
  • Ľudovít Lačný (1926) – chess composer, FIDE master
  • Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849) – Hungarian national poet, born to a Slovak mother
  • Rudolf Vrba (1924–2006) – Auschwitz survivor, author of the Vrba-Wetzler report
  • Miriam Roth (1910–2005), Israeli writer and scholar of children's books, kindergarten teacher, and educator
  • Vladimír Valach (1937-2006), diplomat and banker

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ sk:Marián Lapšanský
  2. ^ sk:Marcel Buntaj
  3. ^ "Memoirs and Travels of Mauritius Augustus Count de Benyowsky: Consisting of His Military Operations in Poland, His Exile into Kamchatka, His Escape and Voyage from that Peninsula through the Northern Pacific Ocean, Touching at Japan and Formosa, to Canton in China, with an Account of the French Settlement He Was Appointed to Form upon the Island of Madagascar". World Digital Library. 1790. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
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