The Most Famous

WRITERS from Slovakia

This page contains a list of the greatest Slovak Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 7,302 Writers, 20 of which were born in Slovakia. This makes Slovakia the birth place of the 51st most number of Writers behind South Africa, and Algeria.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Slovak Writers of all time. This list of famous Slovak Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Slovak Writers.

1. Pavel Jozef Šafárik (1795 - 1861)

With an HPI of 64.27, Pavel Jozef Šafárik is the most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages on wikipedia.

Pavel Jozef Šafárik (Slovak: Pavol Jozef Šafárik; 13 May 1795 – 26 June 1861) was an ethnic Slovak philologist, poet, literary historian, historian and ethnographer in the Kingdom of Hungary. He was one of the first scientific Slavists.

2. Tibor Sekelj (1912 - 1988)

With an HPI of 63.08, Tibor Sekelj is the 2nd most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Tibor Sekelj (14 February 1912 – 23 September 1988), also known as Székely Tibor according to Hungarian orthography, was a Hungarian born polyglot, explorer, author, and 'citizen of the world.' In 1986 he was elected a member of the Academy of Esperanto and an honorary member of the World Esperanto Association. Among his novels, travel books and essays, his novella Kumeŭaŭa, la filo de la ĝangalo ("Kumewawa, the son of the jungle"), a children's book about the life of Brazilian Indians, was translated into seventeen languages, and in 1987 it was voted best Children's book in Japan. In 2011 the European Esperanto Union declared 2012 "The Year of Tibor Sekelj" to honor the 100th anniversary of his birth.

3. Ľudovít Štúr (1815 - 1856)

With an HPI of 61.47, Ľudovít Štúr is the 3rd most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 43 different languages.

Ľudovít Štúr (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈʎudɔʋiːt ˈʃtuːr]; 28 October 1815 – 12 January 1856), also known as Ľudovít Velislav Štúr, was a Slovak revolutionary, politician, and writer. As a leader of the Slovak national revival in the 19th century, and the author of the Slovak language standard, he is lauded as one of the most important figures in Slovak history. Štúr was an organizer of the Slovak volunteer campaigns during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. He was also a politician, poet, journalist, publisher, teacher, philosopher, linguist and member of the Hungarian Parliament.

4. Vladimír Clementis (1902 - 1952)

With an HPI of 55.97, Vladimír Clementis is the 4th most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Vladimír "Vlado" Clementis (20 September 1902 – 3 December 1952) was a Slovak politician, lawyer, publicist, literary critic, author and a prominent member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. Between 1948 and 1950, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia. In 1952, he was accused of "Titoism" and "national deviation" during the Slánský trial and executed.

5. Bálint Balassi (1554 - 1594)

With an HPI of 55.20, Bálint Balassi is the 5th most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Baron Bálint Balassi de Kékkő et Gyarmat (Hungarian: Gyarmati és kékkői báró Balassi Bálint, Slovak: Valentín Balaša (Valaša) barón z Ďarmôt a Modrého Kameňa; 20 October 1554 – 30 May 1594) was a Hungarian Renaissance lyric poet. He wrote mostly in Hungarian, but was also proficient in eight more languages: Latin, Italian, German, Polish, Turkish, Slovak, Croatian and Romanian. He is the founder of modern Hungarian lyric and erotic poetry.

6. Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav (1849 - 1921)

With an HPI of 53.45, Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav is the 6th most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav (2 February 1849 - 8 November 1921) was a Slovak poet, dramatist, translator, and for a short time, member of the Czechoslovak parliament. Originally, he wrote in a traditional style, but later became influenced by parnassism and modernism.

7. Imre Madách (1823 - 1864)

With an HPI of 52.35, Imre Madách is the 7th most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Imre Madách de Sztregova et Kelecsény (20 January 1823 – 5 October 1864) was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer, poet, lawyer and politician. His major work is The Tragedy of Man (Az ember tragédiája, 1861). It is a dramatic poem approximately 4000 lines long, which elaborates on ideas comparable to Goethe's Faust and Milton's Paradise Lost. The author was encouraged and advised by János Arany, one of the most famous of the 19th-century Hungarian poets.

8. Kálmán Mikszáth (1847 - 1910)

With an HPI of 52.25, Kálmán Mikszáth is the 8th most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Kálmán Mikszáth de Kiscsoltó (16 January 1847 – 28 May 1910) was a widely reputed Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician. His work remains in print in Hungarian and still appears from time to time in other languages.

9. Alexander Dukhnovych (1803 - 1865)

With an HPI of 52.06, Alexander Dukhnovych is the 9th most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Alexander Vasilyevich Dukhnovych (24 April 1803 – 30 March 1865) was an Transcarpathian Ruthenian priest, poet, writer, pedagogue, and social activist of the Russophile orientation. He is considered as the awakener (Rusyn: Будитиль, Budytyl’) of the Rusyns.

10. Jozef Miloslav Hurban (1817 - 1888)

With an HPI of 51.47, Jozef Miloslav Hurban is the 10th most famous Slovak Writer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jozef Miloslav Hurban (Hungarian: Hurbán József Miloszláv; pseudonyms Slavomil F. Kořennatý, Ľudovít Pavlovič, M. z Bohuslavíc, M. Selovský, 19 March 1817 – 21 February 1888) was a leader of the Slovak National Council and the Slovak Uprising in 1848–1849. He was a writer, journalist, politician, organizer of Slovak cultural life, and a Lutheran pastor. He was a supporter of Ján Kollár, and later of Ľudovít Štúr. His son, Svetozár Hurban-Vajanský, followed in his footsteps both as a writer and nationalist. He is a co-founder of the Slovak National Council, Slovak Matica, group Tatrín, co-founder of the Slovak National Theater in Nitra. The city of Hurbanovo in southern Slovakia and asteroid 3730 Hurban are both named after him.

People

Pantheon has 25 people classified as Slovak writers born between 1554 and 1980. Of these 25, 2 (8.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Slovak writers include Vladimir Oravsky, and Radoslav Rochallyi. The most famous deceased Slovak writers include Pavel Jozef Šafárik, Tibor Sekelj, and Ľudovít Štúr. As of April 2024, 6 new Slovak writers have been added to Pantheon including Alexander Dukhnovych, Ján Hollý, and Vladimir Oravsky.