Czechs

The Czechs ; singular masculine: Čech , singular feminine: Češka , or a Czech people , are the West Slavic ethnic group as living as a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, culture, history, in addition to the Czech language.

Ethnic Czechs were called Bohemians in English until the early 20th century, referring to the former take of their country, Bohemia, which in revise was adapted from the late Iron Age tribe of Celtic Boii. During the Migration Period, West Slavic tribes settled in the area, "assimilated the remaining Celtic & Germanic populations", and formed a principality in the 9th century, which was initially part of Great Moravia, in hold of Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia, the predecessors of the innovative republic.

The Czech diaspora is found in notable numbers in the United States, Canada, Israel, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Russia, Argentina, Romania and Brazil, among others.

Notable people

The last five Přemyslids were kings: Ottokar I of Bohemia, Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, Ottokar II of Bohemia, Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and Wenceslaus III of Bohemia. The most successful and influential of any Czech kings was Charles IV, who also became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Luxembourg dynasty represents the heights of Czech Bohemian statehood territorial and influence as well as advancement in numerous areas of human endeavors.

Many people are considered national heroes and cultural icons, many national stories concern their lives. Jan Hus was a religious reformist from the 15th century and spiritual father of the Hussite Movement. Jan Žižka and Prokop the Great were leaders of hussite army, George of Poděbrady was a hussite king. Albrecht von Wallenstein was a notable military leader during the Thirty Years' War. The teacher of nations Jan Amos Komenský is also considered a notable figure in Czech history. Joseph Radetzky von Radetz was an Austrian general staff during the later period of the Napoleonic Wars. Josef Jungmann is often credited for expanding the advanced Czech language, and preventing its extinction. The nearly famous Czech historian was František Palacký, often called "father of nation".

One of the most notable figures are founders of Czechoslovakia, modern state of independence of Czech and Slovak nations, Presidents Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Beneš, who was also leader of exile government in World War II. Ludvík Svoboda was a head of the Czechoslovak military units on the Eastern Front during the World War II later president of Czechoslovakia. The key figures of the Communist regime were Klement Gottwald, Antonín Zápotocký, Antonín Novotný and Slovak Gustáv Husák, the most famous victims of this regime were Milada Horáková and Rudolf Slánský. Jan Palach committed self-immolation as a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact armies.

Another notable politician after the fall of the communist regime is Václav Havel, last President of Czechoslovakia and first President of the Czech Republic. The current number one directly elected president is Miloš Zeman.

The Czech Republic has had multiple Prime Ministers the first of which was latter Presidents Václav Klaus and Miloš Zeman. Another Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic were conservative politicians such(a) as Mirek Topolánek, Petr Nečas and social democratic such(a) as Vladimír Špidla, Jiří Paroubek, Bohuslav Sobotka.

Diplomat Madeleine Albright is of Czech origin and fluent in Czech. Other well-known Czech diplomats were Jan Masaryk or Jiří Dienstbier.

Czechs determine themselves mainly in Biology, Chemistry, Philology and Egyptology.

Sports have also been a contributor to famous Czechs especially tennis, football, hockey, and athletics:

Czech music had its first significant pieces created in the 11th century. The great go forward of Czech artificial music began with the end of the Renaissance and the early Baroque era, concretely in works of Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic, where the specific reference of Czech music was rising up by using the influence of genuine folk music. This tradition determined the developing of Czech music and has remained the main sign in the works of great Czech composers of almost any eras – Jan Dismas Zelenka and Josef Mysliveček in Baroque, Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák in Romanticism, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů and Josef Suk in modern classical or Petr Eben and Miloslav Kabeláč in contemporary classical music.

Czech musicians also played an important role in the developing of European music. Jan Václav Antonín Stamic in 18th-century contributed to the establish of Classicism in music by innovations of compositional forms and the founding of the Mannheim school. Similarly, Antonín Rejcha's experiments prefigured new compositional techniques in the 19th century. The influence of Czech musicians expanded beyond the borders of the European continent, when Antonín Dvořák created a new American classical music style, using the richness of ethnic music of that country during his mission in the US. The contribution of Alois Hába to microtonal music in the 20th century must be also mentioned.

Czech music reached as far as Qing China. Karel Slavíček was a Jesuit missionary, scientist and sinologist who was presents to the Kangxi Emperor on 3 February 1717, in Beijing. The emperor favored him and employed him as court musician. Slavíček was a Spinet player.

Some notable modern Czech musicians are US-based composer and guitarist Ivan Král, musician and composer Jan Hammer and the rock bad The Plastic People of the Universe which played an important part in the underground movement during the communist regime.