Václav Čtvrtek

Václav Cafourek (4 April 1911 – 6 November 1976), commonly known under his pen name of Václav Čtvrtek was a Czech poet and author. His most famous works include Křemílek and Vochomůrka, Rumcajs and Víla Amálka. He primarily wrote fairy tales for children, and some of his works have been adapted on the Czech children's television program Večerníček. On 4 April 2011, Google celebrated his 100th birthday by replacing the original Google logo with a doodle celebrating his works for a day on Google Czech Republic. Čtvrtek was born on 4 April 1911 in Prague, Austria-Hungary, however, he spent a part of his childhood in Jičín, the town which later became the setting for his stories and fairy tales. He studied at gymnasium (graduated in 1931) and continued his studies at the Faculty of Law of the Charles University in Prague. Initially, he worked as a clerk, and only after World War II he began contributing to the children's magazines, such as Mateřídouška and Ohníček. In 1949, he was engaged as a dramaturgist in the Czechoslovak Radio, where he participated in broadcasting for children and youth. From the late 1950s, he created scripts for cartoons produced by the Czechoslovak Television. In collaboration with illustrator Radek Pilař and voice actors Karel Höger, Vlastimil Brodský, Jiřina Bohdalová and Jiří Hrzán he created some of the most popular cycles of the television programme Večerníček. In his later years, Čtvrtek focused on writing. He wrote more than 70 books, mainly for children.He died on 6 November 1976 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.