Šárka B. Hrbková

Šárka B. Hrbková (also Sarka B. Hrbek, Sarka B. Herbkova, Sarah Hrbek and Sara B. Hrbek; August 23, 1878 – February 7, 1948) was an American author, writer, university professor, translator, Slavologist, historian, journalist, union official, suffragette, and feminist of Czech descent.

Early life Hrbková was born on August 23, 1878, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the time there was a significant Czech community in Iowa. Her younger brother was Jefrem D. Hrbek (1882–1907), who was the founder of the School of Slavonic Language and Literature at the University of Nebraska.

Career After graduating from a school for teachers, from 1895 to 1906 she taught in the public schools in Cedar Rapids. There, she organized the first night school for foreigners and Czech immigrants.

In January 1908, she accepted a position as a graduate student and teacher of Czech at the University of Nebraska, replacing her deceased brother Professor Jefrem Hrbek, who died in 1907. As a graduate student at the University of Nebraska, and after her graduation, from 1908 to 1919, she was a member of the faculty and served as the chairman of the Department of Slavonic Languages and Literature. She was involved in supporting the activities of Czechs in exile, including Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Edvard Beneš, and Milan Rastislav Štefánik and advocating for the creation of an independent Czechoslovakia.

After 1918 When World War I broke out, she became active in war work. She probably directly replaced Josef Tvrzický in the leadership position, whose health deteriorated sharply due to a hereditary disease, leading him to commit suicide in 1920.

In the following years, she continued to be active in the Czech-American community and worked as an interpreter and author in New York.

She was a member of numerous scholarly and cultural organizations, including the Iowa historical society, Nebraska historical society, and the National League of American Penwomen.

She returned to Cedar Rapids in 1942 and lived the last years of her life in the home of her family. "Bridging the Atlantic: A Discussion of the Problems and Methods of Americanization" (1919). Czechoslovak Stories (1920) "'Bunk' in Americanization." The Forum (April–May 1920): 428–438 "Notes on the paintings" in Historical paintings of the Slavic nations by Alfons Mucha (1921) "The Czecho-Slovaks in America" Our World (December 1923): 88–90

Her translations include:

Jan Výrava, play by František Adolf Šubert (1915) The Will o' the Wisp, play by Jaroslav Kvapil (1916) The Apple Tree by Svatopluk Cech (1922) Czechoslovak Stories, anthology of short stories (1920)