Jaroslav Kvapil

Jaroslav Kvapil (25 September 1868 – 10 January 1950) was a Czech poet, theatre director, translator, playwright and librettist.

Early life, education and family Jaroslav Josef Kvapil was born on 25 September 1868 in Chudenice, into the family of a physician. He attended schools in Klatovy and Plzeň and graduated from the secondary school in 1886. He then gradually tried to study three fields (medicine, philology, law) at the Charles University, but finished none of them.

Jaroslav Kvapil was married to actress Hana Kvapilová (née Kubešová) from 1894 until she died in 1907. They met in 1890. In 1910 he married for the second time, this time to actress Zdenka Rydlová (1884–1955). They had a daughter, Eva.

Kvapil was the principal author of the Manifesto of Czech writers of 1917, signed by over two hundred leading Czechs, favouring the concept of Czech self-government.

He was a prominent freemason. From 1923 to 1924 he was the first Grand Master of the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia.

Kvapil died on 10 January 1950 in Prague, aged 81. He had a state funeral. He was buried in Prague, but since 1955, his ashes have been in the family tomb in Chudenice.