Harold Gordon Skilling (February 28, 1912 – March 2, 2001) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
political scientist
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
, known for his expertise on the
history of Czechoslovakia
With the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy at the end of World War I, the independent country of CzechoslovakiaEdited by Keith Sword ''The Times Guide to Eastern Europe'' Times Book, 1990 p. 53 (Czech, Slovak: ''Československo'') was formed ...
and support for the
Charter 77
Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...
dissident movement.
Born in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
in 1912, Skilling received degrees from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
,
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, and
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
He was part of the faculty at the University of Toronto until his retirement in 1982.
In Czechoslovakia
Skilling's first visit to Czechoslovakia was in 1937,
to research his doctoral thesis in Czech history from the University of London, on the topic of
relations between Czechs and Germans in 19th century
Bohemia.
On 4 September 1937 he attended
Thomas Garrigue Masaryk
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the ...
's last public appearance as president, at the anniversary commemoration of the
Battle of Zborov in
Strahov Stadium in Prague. Working as a broadcaster for shortwave radio service Radiojournal,
a forerunner of
Radio Prague, Skilling was in Prague in September 1938 when the
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...
was signed, and was still in the country the following March when the
Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
began.
During this period he also worked on news broadcasts for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
.
Skilling left Prague in April 1939, to finish his doctoral research in Nazi-ruled
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
Post-war
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Skilling visited the country many more times.
During the
communist era
A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule.
Current communist states China
The Chinese Communist ...
, Skilling was an active supporter of dissidents such as
Vaclav Havel, who he visited at his cottage in
Hrádeček,
and the wider
Charter 77
Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...
movement, smuggling newspapers, journals, and books into the country to encourage dissident activists,
including his own book, ''Charter 77 and Human Rights in Czechoslovakia'', which was strongly supportive of the movement.
As an academic historian, Skilling produced a number of works about Czechoslovak history and culture,
and collected many Czechoslovak
samizdat
Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...
publications, now housed in the University of Toronto library.
Skilling was awarded the
Innis-Gérin Medal The Innis-Gérin Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada for a distinguished and sustained contribution to the literature of the social sciences. It was established in 1966 and is given biennially. The award is named in honor of Harold Inn ...
in 1981,
a prize awarded by the
Royal Society of Canada for distinguished contribution to the literature of the
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
. In 1992, Skilling received the
Order of the White Lion
The Order of the White Lion ( cs, Řád Bílého lva) is the highest order of the Czech Republic. It continues a Czechoslovak order of the same name created in 1922 as an award for foreigners (Czechoslovakia had no civilian decoration for its ...
, Czechoslovakia's highest honour, from President Vaclav Havel.
Personal life
Gordon Skilling's wife Sara died in 1990. They had two sons.
Legacy
According to
Radio Prague, "few would question
killing'sstatus as the most important North American historian of Czechoslovak 20th century history.
In 2012, the centenary of Skilling's birth was marked by an international conference and exhibition about his life and work at the
Museum Kampa
Museum Kampa is a modern art gallery in Prague, Czech Republic, showing Central European, and in particular Czech work. The pieces are from the private collection of Meda Mládek, wife of Jan V. Mládek.
The museum opened in 2003 and is housed ...
in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
.
Selected works
* 1976 ''Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution'' - on the subject of the
Prague Spring
* 1981 ''Charter 77 and Human Rights in Czechoslovakia'' - a sympathetic overview of the
Charter 77
Charter 77 (''Charta 77'' in Czech and Slovak) was an informal civic initiative in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1976 to 1992, named after the document Charter 77 from January 1977. Founding members and architects were Jiří Něm ...
movement
* 2000 ''The Education of a Canadian: My Life as a Scholar and Activist'' - autobiography
References
External links
Harold Gordon Skilling archival papersheld at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skilling, Harold Gordon
1912 births
2001 deaths
Canadian political scientists
Canadian male non-fiction writers
20th-century Canadian historians
Columbia University faculty
20th-century political scientists