Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 1850 - 14 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak leader, considered as the founding father of Czechoslovakia. He was a progressive political activist and philosopher, and the first President of Czechoslovakia from 1918 until 1935.
He was born in Hodonín, Moravia (then part of the Austrian Empire) and received his PhD from the University of Vienna. He began his political career as a deputy in the Austrian Reichsrat. Masaryk supported the transformation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state, and at the outbreak of the World War I, he was an activist in favour of the independence of the Czech and Slovak Republics. He travelled around Europe organising support for Czechoslovakia, formed the Czechoslovak Legion, and joined the Czechoslovak Legion. In 1918, Masaryk went to the United States with his trustees Edvard Beneš and Milan Rastislav Štefánik to seek support from President Woodrow Wilson and Secretary of State Robert Lansing. Their debates resulted in the Washington Declaration, which declared the independence of Czechoslovakia.
At the end of 1918, after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, Masaryk was recognised as the head of the provisional government. He was formally elected president in November and later re-elected three times. Under Masaryk's leadership, Czechoslovakia became a strong democracy. He resigned in 1935 due to old age and left office two years later at the age of 87.
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