American Men and Women in Medicine, Applied Sciences and Engineering with Roots in Czechoslovakia

Book excerpt: No comprehensive study has been undertaken about the American learned men and women with Czechoslovak roots. The aim of this work is to correct this glaring deficiency, with the focus on men and women in medicine, applied sciences and engineering. It covers immigration from the period of mass migration and beyond, irrespective whether they were born in their European ancestral homes or whether they have descended from them. This compendium clearly demonstrates the Czech and Slovak immigrants, including Bohemian Jews, have brought to the New World, in these areas, their talents, their ingenuity, the technical skills, their scientific knowhow, as well as their humanistic and spiritual upbringing, reflecting upon the richness of their culture and traditions, developed throughout centuries in their ancestral home. This accounts for their remarkable success and achievements of theses settlers in the New World, transcending through their descendants, as this publication demonstrates. The monograph has been organized into sections by subject areas, i.e., Medicine, Allied Health Sciences and Social Services, Agricultural and Food Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences and Engineering. Each individual entry is usually accompanied with literature, and additional biographical sources for readers who wish to pursue a deeper study. The selection of individuals has been strictly based on geographical vantage, without regards to their native language or ethnical background. Some of the entries may surprise you, because their Czech or Slovak ancestry has not been generally known. What is conspicuous is a large percentage of listed individuals being Jewish, which is a reflection of high-level of education and intellect of Bohemian Jews. A prodigious number of accomplished women in this study is also astounding, considering that, in the 19th century, they rarely had careers and most professions refused entry to them.