Vaclav Havel: 1936–2011

Beginnings
Havel in a studio portrait from the 1950s. He was born into a wealthy family in Prague in 1936. At an early age, he became interested in science, working as a technician in a chemistry lab. But he would later become enamored with theater, honing his craft as a playwright, before eventually becoming President of Czechoslovakia.

• The Death of the Playwright-President