Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk[a] was a Czechoslovak statesman, political activist and philosopher who served as the first president of Czechoslovakia 1918-35. He is regarded as the founding father of Czechoslovakia.
At the start of WW1 he went into exile in Europe and the States, from where he promoted the Czechoslovak cause. In 1915 he was one of the first staff members of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (now part of University College London), where the student society and senior common room are named after him. Masaryk became professor of Slavic Research at King's College London, lecturing on the problem of small nations. He opened an office on Piccadilly Circus whose exterior was covered with pro-Czechoslovak slogans and maps.
Born in Moravia, now a part of the Czech Republic. Died Czechoslovakia . Garrigue was his American born wife's maiden name. They married in 1878.
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