Commemorative Plaque to Jaroslav Heyrovský in Prague‘s Old Town

1990; 1890–1967 

One of the first memorial plaques dedicated to the Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Jaroslav Heyrovský (1890-1967), is in Prague 1, at the corner of Křížovnická and Kaprova Streets, and commemorates the place of his birth.  Here, in the house Na Kocandě, he grew up with three sisters and a brother in the family of an important professor and rector of Charles University, Leopold Heyrovský.

 

Jaroslav Heyrovský was born on 20 December 1890 into the family of Leopold Heyrovský, professor of Roman law, and his wife Klára, née Hanlová, as the fourth child. On regular family trips to the countryside, he and his brother Leopold collected various natural materials, including fossils. As a boy he began to write his own textbook of natural history, which he also illustrated. At the Academy Highschool, his role model was Professor J. Jeniště, who sparked his interest in chemistry and physics. Heyrovský was already very active in his youth and had a number of hobbies, for example love of mountains and football.

After graduation (1909) he began studying chemistry, physics and mathematics at Charles University. After two semesters, when he realised the limits of studying physical chemistry in Bohemia, he began his studies at University College London. He continued his studies with Professor William Ramsay, who received the Nobel Prize in 1904 for the isolation of rare elements from the Earth's atmosphere.

In 1913 he received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of London. It would have been followed by a postgraduate research fellowship in the electrochemical laboratory of Professor F. G. Donnan, but this was thwarted by the outbreak of the First World War. In 1915 Hyerovský had to enlist and during the war he worked as a paramedic in Bohemia and in Austria. At the same time, he tried to continue his research and used his results from England. Immediately after the war, he again submitted his dissertation (1918: On the Electroaffinity of Aluminium) to Bohuslav Brauner and Bohumil Kučera, who were the leaders in the field of chemistry at that time. 

In 1922, on February 10, the thirty-two-year-old Heyrovsky discovered drop electrode electrolysis. He published his discovery in the autumn and in the same year was appointed professor at Charles University, thus becoming the first professor of physical chemistry in Czechoslovakia.

The place of birth and the time of Heyrovsky's first achievements is commemorated by a memorial plaque at the corner of Prague 1, Křížovnická and Kaprova streets in Prague 1. The white marble plaque can be found on the wall of the Neo-Renaissance house at the level of the raised ground floor. The work was created by academic sculptor Antonín Kulda and was unveiled in 1990, on the centenary of Jaroslav Heyrovský's birth. The commemorative plaque of one of our Nobel Prize winners bears this inscription: 

IN THIS HOUSE / ON 20 DECEMBER 1890 / WAS BORN / ACADEMICIAN / JAROSLAV HEYROVSKY / NOBEL PRIZE WINNER IN CHEMISTRY 

 

References

Kvítek, M.: Průkopníci vědy a techniky v českých zemích. Praha, 1994, s. 52–53.

Benešová, O.: Nobelova cena. Historie Nobelovy nadace: laureáti Nobelovy ceny 1901–1996. Praha 1996, s. 36.

Koryta, J.: Jaroslav Heyrovský, Praha 1990.

Stejskalová, K.: Putovní výstava Příběh kapky (brožura), ÚFCH J. Heyrovského AV ČR, v.v.i.], Praha červen 2021. – URL: http://www.heyrovsky.cz/data/dokument/soubor/pribeh-kapky-brozura_34s_-2021.pdf [7. 7. 2022].

Gardelka, T.: Pražský pantheon – Jaroslav Heyrovský. URL: https://www.prazskypantheon.cz/index.php/Jaroslav_Heyrovsk%C3%BD [29. 8. 2022].

Přírodovědecká fakulta UK (Chemie) – Významné osobnosti: Jaroslav Heyrovský. URL: https://www.natur.cuni.cz/chemie/informace-o-sekci/vyznamne-osobnosti/jaroslav-heyrovsky

[20. 6. 2022].

Bártík, V.: Pamětní desky v Praze (Heyrovský Jaroslav). URL: https://www.pametni-desky-v-praze.cz/2020/09/29/heyrovsky-jaroslav-na-dome-cp-71-v-krizovnicke-ulici-14-v-praha-1-stare-mesto/ [29. 8. 2022].

Národní památkový ústav – Památkový katalog. URL: https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/dum-na-kocande-15423879 [29. 8. 2022].

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