Havlíček, Karel (1821–1856)

Czech journalist, politician, and satirical poet. He published two selections of incisive political essays and articles in the 1840s, and founded the first Czech daily paper, Národní noviny, in 1848. Havlíček's most original work was a collection of satirical poems, Křest Svatého Vladimíra/The Conversion of St Vladimir 1876, which attacked state bureaucracy and the Roman Catholic Church.

Along with the Czech nationalist historian František Palacký, Havlíček advocated a system of autonomous Slav states within the Austro-Hungarian empire, and feared Russian as much as Prussian expansion. His critical stance led to his arrest and trial for subversive activities in 1851; he was exiled to the Tirol for four years.