Jiljí Vratislav Jahn

Jiljí Vratislav Jahn was a chemist, secondary school teacher, writer and politician. He was also the author of the first Czech-language chemistry textbooks for secondary and lower schools. In 1874 he became a member of the Bohemian Diet and later a member of the Imperial Council. He was a leading figure in the cultural and social life of Pardubice, and was also the author of popular works on the natural sciences and many poems.

Jiljí Vratislav Jahn was born into the family of the chateau priest Egyd Jahn in 1838. He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering in Prague and went on to become a teacher, later being appointed the director of the real grammar school in Pardubice. Besides his teaching career, he also contributed to Rieger’s Encyclopaedia, primarily on topics associated with chemistry. He also worked for Národní listy (The National Newspaper) and wrote poems; his literary talent brought him into the world of the poets and writers of the time. He collaborated with Vítězslav Hálek and Eliška Krásnohorská, and was in contact with the Májovci ("May School"). He became very active and well known in social circles and as the director of the Secondary Real School in Pardubice joined the Old Bohemian Party and ran for office as a member of the Bohemian Diet, to which he was elected in 1874. As a politician he focused particularly on educational matters and, after his success in Czech politics, was also elected to the Imperial Council of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1885. Alongside his political career, however, he continued to teach, wrote popular works on the natural sciences and was the author of several chemistry textbooks. His book Chemie nerostná (Mineral Chemistry) was one of the first chemistry textbooks to be written in the Czech language. In 1865 he and his wife had a son, Jaroslav, who would later go on to be one of the most outstanding Czech geologists.

HANUŠ, M.: Jiljí Vratislav Jahn a Bedřich Smetana. Zprávy klubu přátel Pardubicka Pardubice: Klub přátel Pardubicka, 35/2000, č. 5–6, s. 150–152

 

POKORNÁ, M.: Jiljí Vratislav Jahn – první životopisec F. L. Riegra. In: František Ladislav Rieger a česká společnost 2. poloviny 19. století. Sborník referátů z vědecké konference konané 25.a 26. dubna 2003 v Semilech, Semily 2003, s. 227–232.

Jiljí Vratislav Jahn (Author: Public domain)