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Jehan de Mandeville, translated as Sir John Mandeville, is the name claimed by the compiler of a singular book of supposed travels, written in Anglo-Norman French, and published between 1357 and 1371. By aid of translations into many other languages it acquired extraordinary popularity.<br/><br/>

Despite the extremely unreliable and often fantastical nature of the travels it describes, it was used as a work of reference — Christopher Columbus, for example, was heavily influenced by both this work, as well as by Marco Polo's earlier 'Il Milione'.
Václav Hollar (13 July 1607 – 25 March 1677), was a Bohemian etcher, known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar.<br/><br/>

He was born in Prague, and died in London, being buried at St Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Most of his works, such as Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle), are filled with the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations.<br/><br/>

Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In his lifetime, most of the population of Prague spoke Czech, and the division between Czech- and German-speaking people was a tangible reality, as both groups were strengthening their national identity. The Jewish community often found itself in between the two sentiments, naturally raising questions about a place to which one belongs. Kafka himself was fluent in both languages, considering German his mother tongue.
Vaclav Havel (5 October 1936 – 18 December 2011) was a Czech writer, philosopher, dissident, and statesman. From 1989 to 1992, he served as the last president of Czechoslovakia. He then served as the first president of the Czech Republic (1993–2003) after the Czech–Slovak split.<br/><br/>

Within Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs.
Václav Hollar (13 July 1607 – 25 March 1677), was a Bohemian etcher, known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar.<br/><br/>

He was born in Prague, and died in London, being buried at St Margaret's Church, Westminster.
Alfons Maria Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), often known in English and French as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, celebrated for his distinctive style.<br/><br/>

He produced numerous paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs.
Jan Hus, often referred to in English as John Hus or John Huss, was a Czech priest, philosopher, early Christian reformer and Master at Charles University in Prague. After John Wycliffe, the theorist of ecclesiastical Reformation, Hus is considered the first Church reformer, as he lived before Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli.<br/><br/>

Hus was a key predecessor to Protestantism, and his teachings had a strong influence on the states of Western Europe, most immediately in the approval of a reformist Bohemian religious denomination, and, more than a century later, on Martin Luther himself. He was burned at the stake in 1415 for 'heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church'.
Alfons Maria Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), often known in English and French as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist, celebrated for his distinctive style.<br/><br/>

He produced numerous paintings, illustrations, advertisements, postcards, and designs
The Munich Agreement was a settlement permitting Nazi Germany's annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia along the country's borders mainly inhabited by German speakers, for which a new territorial designation 'Sudetenland' was coined.<br/><br/>

The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe, excluding the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. Today, it is widely regarded as a failed act of appeasement towards Nazi Germany.
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Most of his works, such as Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle), are filled with the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations.<br/><br/>

Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In his lifetime, most of the population of Prague spoke Czech, and the division between Czech- and German-speaking people was a tangible reality, as both groups were strengthening their national identity. The Jewish community often found itself in between the two sentiments, naturally raising questions about a place to which one belongs. Kafka himself was fluent in both languages, considering German his mother tongue.
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German Nazi official during World War II, and one of the main architects of the Holocaust. He was SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei (Senior Group Leader and Chief of Police) as well as chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD).<br/><br/>

He was also Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor (Deputy/Acting Reich-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia, in what is now the Czech Republic. Heydrich chaired the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, which formalised plans for the Final Solution to the Jewish Question—the deportation and genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe.<br/><br/>

Heydrich was attacked in Prague on 27 May 1942 by a British-trained team of Czech and Slovak soldiers who had been sent by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile to kill him in Operation Anthropoid. He died from his injuries a week later. Intelligence falsely linked the assassins to the villages of Lidice and Lezaky. Lidice was razed to the ground; all men and boys over the age of 16 were shot, and all but a handful of its women and children were deported and killed in Nazi concentration camps.
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. Most of his works, such as Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle), are filled with the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations.<br/><br/>

Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In his lifetime, most of the population of Prague spoke Czech, and the division between Czech- and German-speaking people was a tangible reality, as both groups were strengthening their national identity. The Jewish community often found itself in between the two sentiments, naturally raising questions about a place to which one belongs. Kafka himself was fluent in both languages, considering German his mother tongue.
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German Nazi official during World War II, and one of the main architects of the Holocaust. He was SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei (Senior Group Leader and Chief of Police) as well as chief of the Reich Main Security Office (including the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD).<br/><br/>

He was also Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor (Deputy/Acting Reich-Protector) of Bohemia and Moravia, in what is now the Czech Republic. Heydrich chaired the January 1942 Wannsee Conference, which formalised plans for the Final Solution to the Jewish Question—the deportation and genocide of all Jews in German-occupied Europe.<br/><br/>

Heydrich was attacked in Prague on 27 May 1942 by a British-trained team of Czech and Slovak soldiers who had been sent by the Czechoslovak government-in-exile to kill him in Operation Anthropoid. He died from his injuries a week later. Intelligence falsely linked the assassins to the villages of Lidice and Lezaky. Lidice was razed to the ground; all men and boys over the age of 16 were shot, and all but a handful of its women and children were deported and killed in Nazi concentration camps.
Rudolf Franz Lehnert (Czech) and Ernst Heinrich Landrock (German) had a photographic company based in Tunis, Cairo and Leipzig before World War II. They specialised in somewhat risque Orientalist images of young Arab and Bedouin women, often dancers.<br/><br/>

Lehnert was born in Gross Aupa (now Velká Úpa), then in Bohemia and now in the Czech Republic. With Ernst Heinrich Landrock, he based a photographic company in, successively, Tunis, Munich, Leipzig and Cairo, publishing the works as by 'Lehnert & Landrock'.<br/><br/>

From the 1860s onwards photographs of people with different cultural values and sexual morality became popular for artistic and erotic reasons. These nude images often say more about the fantasies and culture of the photographers than about the portrayed cultures. According to some critics they border on sexism and ethnocentrism.<br/><br/>

Lehnert spent the last part of his life at Redeyef, Gafza Oasis, Tunisia, where he died.
Laozi (Lao Tzu, c. 6th century BCE) was a mystic philosopher of ancient China. His association with the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism (also spelled 'Daoism'). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of the Taoist religion, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or 'One of the Three Pure Ones'. Laozi translated literally from Chinese means 'old master' or 'old one', and is generally considered honorific.
Laozi (Lao Tzu, c. 6th century BCE) was a mystic philosopher of ancient China. His association with the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism (also spelled 'Daoism'). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of the Taoist religion, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or 'One of the Three Pure Ones'. Laozi translated literally from Chinese means 'old master' or 'old one', and is generally considered honorific.
Laozi (Lao Tzu, c. 6th century BCE) was a mystic philosopher of ancient China. His association with the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism (also spelled 'Daoism'). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of the Taoist religion, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or 'One of the Three Pure Ones'. Laozi translated literally from Chinese means 'old master' or 'old one', and is generally considered honorific.