Prof. RNDr. Josef Kunský

(*6. 10. 1903 – Sušice u Klatov   † 21. 9. 1978 – Sušice u Klatov)

Josef Kunský came from the Šumava foothills. He came to the Faculty of Science of Charles University after passing his matriculation examination in 1922. His fields of study were natural history and geography, but later he also extended his studies to mathematics and physics. In 1928, he defended his dissertation thesis entitled "Studies on Tertiary Gravels in Central Bohemia" under Václav Dědina, on the basis of which he received his doctorate. After graduation he worked in several secondary schools in Prague. In 1934, Josef Kunský habilitated himself with his thesis "The Otava Valley" , in which he combined geographical and geological methods of research on the river network. In the summer of 1936 Kunský led an expedition to Iceland and the Faroe Islands. During his travels, he mainly investigated volcanic and glacial landforms. Among the expedition participants were the botanist Emil Hadač and the geographer Zdeněk Roth. After his return, he wrote a travelogue, which was published in 1958 in German under the title "Polarlicht über Vulkaninseln" and in Czech in a number of articles, mainly in the magazine Širým světem. In 1942-1945 Josef Kunský worked at the Central Institute of Geology. After the Second World War he became an extraordinary professor of physical geography at Charles University in 1946 and was appointed full professor in 1949. In 1950-1952 Josef Kunský served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Physics of Charles University and in 1953 he was appointed Corresponding Member of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Kunský was for many years on the editorial boards of several journals. For example, he headed the Geographical Magazine (1945-1950). His work focused on geomorphology and often combined the methods of geography and geology. He was also one of the advocates and promoters of the so-called Blokadiagram. His passions were mainly his native region (Šumava and Pootaví) and then the history of geography and travel. Among his most important works are Karst and Caves (1950), the two-volume monograph Czech Travellers (1959, 1961), Geography of Geomorphology and Climate of the Sušicko Region (1962), and the textbook Czechoslovakia in Physical Geography (1974). Kunský was also co-author of Macocha and the Moravian Karst (1953, 1961) and created entries in the field of geography for the Handy Dictionary of Learning.

Sources:

MARTÍNEK, Jiří. Geographers in the Czech Lands 1800-1945: (biographical dictionary). Prague: Historical Institute, 2008, 245 p. ISBN 978-80-7286-133-0.

MARTÍNEK, Jiří and MARTÍNEK, Miloslav. Who was who. 1st ed. Prague: Libri, 1998, 509 p. ISBN 80-85983-50-8.