Otomar Novák belongs to the so-called "Museum School" of Antonín Frič, who educated a whole generation of young scientists at the National Museum. His work is associated with the name of Joachim Barrande in particular, with whom he collaborated closely. Barrande, who first described about 3,500 species of fossils, especially trilobites, from the Central Bohemia region, supported him in his studies and the last volumes of Barrande's Silurian System are their joint work. He also appointed him his successor and custodian of the collections, which he bequeathed to the National Museum (1883). Unfortunately, Novák was unable to fulfil this mission, as he struggled with existential problems and tuberculosis his whole life. In spite of his untimely death, the work of Otomar Novák is important for the palaeontology of the Protozoa and was at the time more appreciated abroad than in Bohemia. His path in life was influenced from childhood by his uncle – geologist Karel Feistmantel, and later by his teachers and collaborators Antonín Frič and Jan Krejčí. During his two-year internship in Vienna, he was assistant to Professor E. Suess, one of the most important geologists of the time, who was concerned with the structure of the Earth and tectonics.
After the death of Jan Krejčí in 1887, he became his successor at the University of Prague. However, his deteriorating health prompted him to apply for a study trip to Italy at the end of 1891, where he hoped to improve his health. After his return in the spring of 1892, however, his condition worsened and he took refuge outside Prague in Liteň with his sister Růžena, whose husband Jan Wilt was the headmaster of the local school. He dies here in June. Unlike Joachim Barrande, who died near Vienna, where he is buried far from both Prague and Paris, where he would probably have belonged, Otomar Novák's grave lies symbolically right in the heart of the Český Kras near the paleontological sites to which he dedicated his life.
Novák's brother-in-law and headmaster Jan Wilt wrote in the school's memorial book: ...a very splendid funeral of the deceased, which was attended by many professors, scholars and school teachers, took place on 31 July 1892, and his body was laid to eternal rest in the local cemetery.
Horný, R.; Vaněk, S.: Lovec trilobitů v prvohorních mořích. Otomar Pravoslav Novák, žák a pokračovatel Barrandův. Vesmír 82. 2003. s. 77–80.
Kettner, R.: Geologické vědy na pražských školách. Univerzita Karlova. Praha 1967, s. 77–79.
Matoušek, O.: Dějiny československé geologie. Mladá generace československých přírodovědců a zeměpisců. Praha 1935.
