Jiří Daneš
On 10 th April 1928, a traffic accident happened near Hollywood in which a man crossing the road was seriously injured - he died of his injuries the following day in a Los Angeles hospital. Thus ended the life of traveller and geographer, Professor PhDr Jiří V. Daneš. He had attracted the attention of the public with his travelogues from the Far East, Australia and Oceania and among the experts he was particularly appreciated for his broad knowledge of geomorphology and anthropogeography.
Jiří V. Daneš was born 23 rd August 1880 into the family of a landowner and brewer in the hamlet of Nový Dvůr near Unhošť. After completing his studies at the Prague technical grammar school he enrolled at the Charles University Philosophy Faculty, where he majored in geography, completing his studies in 1902 with a doctorate. Daneš's first trips abroad were mostly to the Balkans, where he had an interest in karst terrain and in anthropogeographical matters. He quickly drew close to the eminent Serb geographer, Dr. J. Cvijić, who became his most influential teacher. After a year of military service in Prague, Daneš studied at Berlin University from 1903 to 1904. He did not have long to wait for his first trip overseas. The 8 th Geographical Congress was taking place in Washington in autumn 1904 and Daneš went there as the only Czech participant. As he combined the visit to the congress with several other expeditions, in the course of his four-month stay on the American continent he managed to cover a large part of the United States and Mexico. Two years later he returned to America for the 10th meeting of the International Geological Congress in Mexico. This time it was the karst terrain of Cuba and Jamaica that interested him most.
In May 1906, J. V. Daneš was awarded a second doctorate to become reader in general geography at Charles University and a year later he was awarded the same title at the Czech Technical University. He was occupied at this time both by his educational activities and by his preparations for major expeditions to Java and Australia, setting out on this fifteen-month journey in 1909 with his friend K. Domin. In March 1917, J. V. Daneš was called up for active military service in Sarajevo where he was put in charge of exploring the Bosnian caves. In 1918, he organized a voluntary Czech legion, which maintained order in Sarajevo after the South Slavonic nations broke away from Austria-Hungary.
At the end of 1919, J. V. Daneš was appointed first Czechoslovak General Consul in Sydney Australia. At the beginning of his Australian stay he was fully occupied with his official duties and the promotion of the Czechoslovak Republic through lectures but the following year he undertook several expeditions on the Australian continent and visited New Guinea and Tasmania. His legation duties came to an end in late 1922 and he resolved to return via the Pacific islands and the American continent. He summarized his travel experiences and professional observations in the travelogue "Three Years on the Pacific Ocean".
Upon his return he focused his attention on the study of the geomorphology of Slovakia and in 1923-1925 he lectured in geography at the Philosophy Faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava, where he established a geographical institute. However, the karst remained a favourite subject for Daneš, in which he ranked among the world's leading experts and he again set out for the American continent to study it in autumn 1927. In addition to his studies of the karst terrains in the USA almost all of which he had visited, he was lecturing at around 30 universities and was also giving popularizing lectures on Czechoslovakia. On the morning of the 10th April 1928 he had lectured at the university in Los Angeles and intended to visit the film studios in Hollywood after the lecture. That was the expedition from which he never returned.
The remains of Jiří V. Daneš were cremated at the Hollywood Crematorium and transported back to Bohemia. Daneš's unfinished work was the inspiration for the establishment of a Daneš Endowment Fund to provide financial assistance for the travels of young geographical researchers from Czechoslovakia and other Slavonic countries.
Written by Pavel Kodera
American-Czech relations
Extensive correspondence with American scientists, esp. geographers, articles on the USA in general and on karst phenomena, excerpts from American specialist and scientific literature.
Notes from his journey around Yugoslavia and from his trip to California. Sign. I b/2, b. 1.
Notes from his journey around the USA 1927 - 1928. Sign. I b/10, b. 1.
Exceptionally extensive documentation (esp. correspondence) on Daneš's trip to the USA 1927 - 1928, connected with his lecture tour of American universities. Sign. IV, b. 7.
Cuttings from American magazines on this journey (1927 - 1928). Sign. V c6, b. 7.
Cuttings from American magazines on the death of J.V. Daneš (died tragically in Hollywood) - 1928. Sign. V f3, b. 7.
Photographies on a geographical theme and postcards from the USA (85 items). Sign. V, ser. no.