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Charles J. Vopicka

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Charles J. Vopicka
Photograph of Vopicka from Secrets of the Balkans (1921).
United States Minister to Romania
In office
November 27, 1913 – July 10, 1920
PresidentWoodrow Wilson
Preceded byJohn Brinkerhoff Jackson
Succeeded byPeter Augustus Jay
United States Minister to Bulgaria
In office
December 26, 1913 – December 17, 1918
PresidentWoodrow Wilson
Preceded byJohn Brinkerhoff Jackson
Succeeded byCharles Stetson Wilson
United States Minister to Serbia
In office
December 15, 1913 – December 17, 1918
PresidentWoodrow Wilson
Preceded byJohn Brinkerhoff Jackson
Succeeded byHenry Percival Dodge (as U.S. Minister to Serbs, Croats and Slovenes)
Personal details
Born
Karel Boromejský Josef Vopička

(1857-11-03)November 3, 1857
Dolní Hbity, Bohemia, Austrian Empire
DiedSeptember 4, 1935(1935-09-04) (aged 77)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Victoria K. Kubin
​
(m. 1883)​
Children6

Charles Joseph Vopicka (born as Karel Boromejský Josef Vopička) (November 3, 1857 – September 4, 1935) was an American diplomat of Czech origin who served as United States Minister to Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia.

Early life

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He was born as Karel Boromejský Josef Vopička on 3 November 1857 at Dolní Hbity house 2, Příbram, Bohemia, Austrian Empire and baptized Catholic the next day.[1] He was one of fourteen children.[2] His father was a farmer and the mayor of their community.[3]

By 1880, he had emigrated to live in Racine and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before moving to Chicago in 1881.[2]

Career

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Photograph of The Hon. Charles J. Vopicka from the Library of Congress

He worked with his wife's brother Otto Kubin in the real estate and banking business until 1888. In the early 1900s, he became the President and Manager of Atlas Brewing Company of Chicago. He ran for Congress on the Democratic ticket in 1904 for the fifth district of Illinois but did not win.[2]

On September 11, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson[4] appointed Vopicka as United States Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria.[5] The outbreak of the Great War made his job all the more difficult.

Added to the delicate situation which was created by the daily snapping of diplomatic threads, there was imposed upon him the extra hazardous task of acting as Chairman of the International Commission in Serbia, where he was also representing the German and Austro-Hungarian interests. He was representing British interests in Bulgaria and German and Turkish interests in Romania. Representing nine nations in Bucharest, during the German occupation of that city, his life for four years was one of extraordinary activity and private and public strain. Acting for Germany and Turkey he handed their ultimatum to Romania. Likewise, to him, the task of persuading several hundred thousand Russians to remain in the trenches to fight the Central Powers fell to a bitter end. After the termination of hostilities and the consequent resumption of international amenities, Minister Vopicka conducted parleys for the various powers and has notably assisted in the task of building order out of chaos and destruction. In the spring of 1920, he resigned.[2]

In 1917, Vopicka traveled to Berlin, after remaining in Bucharest after the removal of the Romanian Government to Jassy (whose withdrawal was requested by the German Government).[6][7] Germany later withdrew the charges and Vopicka returned to Bucharest.[8]

Later career

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After his diplomatic career ended in 1920, he returned to Chicago where he was a member of the Board of Education from 1927 to 1930.[8] A friend of Queen Marie of Romania, he was instrumental in bringing the Queen to Chicago when she visited the United States in 1926. He also served as chairman of the board of the Atlas Brewing Company until he died in 1935.[8]

Personal life

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Vopicka's grave at Bohemian National Cemetery

On February 3, 1883, Vopicka was married to Victoria K. Kubin (1862–1952) from Mníšek [cs], a daughter of organist Martin Kubín and Antonie (née Rudisher) Kubin.[9] Together, they were the parents of six daughters, including:[3]

  • Victoria Vopicka, who married U.S. Representative William H. Stevenson.[3]
  • Elsie Vopicka, who married Edward Kralovec.[3]
  • Clara Vopicka, who married Jerome Schelsinger.[3]
  • Mildred Vopicka, who married Thomas J. Doyle.[3]
  • Helen Vopicka, who married Gordon William Dougherty.[3]
  • Harriet Vopicka, who married Raymond Hockmuth.[3]

Vopicka died in Chicago on September 4, 1935, after attending the funeral of Anna Wilmarth Ickes, wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Cabinet member Harold L. Ickes. After a funeral held at Pilsen Hall in Chicago, Vopicka was buried in the Bohemian National Cemetery.[8]

Honors and legacy

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In 1918, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Star of Romania "as a recognition of his devotion to the allied cause and especially to Rumania during these trying times."[10] He also received the Grand Cordon of the White Eagle, First Class, from the Prince Regent of Serbia.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Státní oblastní archiv v Praze". ebadatelna.soapraha.cz. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Charles J. Vopicka". Czechoslovak Review. Foreign Language Press Survey. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h The Czechoslovak Review. Bohemian Review Company. 1921. p. 302. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Selected as Envoys.; Wilson Chooses T.H. Birch for Lisbon and C.J. Vopicka for Balkans" (PDF). The New York Times. Washington. September 4, 1913. p. 8. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Charles Joseph Vopicka (1857–1935)". Office of the Historian. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "To Remove Vopicka From Bucharest; Washington Acts on Germany's Charge That American Envoy Is Unneutral. Other Blunders Reported; Minister Once 'Phoned "Good Morning, Queen,"' to Rumanian Sovereign, it is Said" (PDF). The New York Times. Washington. January 6, 1917. p. 1. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  7. ^ "Vopicka Arrives in Berlin" (PDF). The New York Times. Berlin. January 18, 1917. p. 2. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e Special to The New York Times (September 5, 1935). "C. J. Vopicka Dead; Diplomat was 77; Prominent Chicagoan, Former Minister to Balkans, Had Headed Brewing Company". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "DigiArchiv of SRA Trebon - ver. 20.06.17". digi.ceskearchivy.cz. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  10. ^ "Rumania Honors Vopicka.; Serbs Also Recognize War Service of American Minister" (PDF). The New York Times. Bucharest. June 5, 1919. p. 14. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by United States Minister to Serbia
1913-1918 		Succeeded byas Minister to Yugoslavia
United States Minister to Bulgaria
1913-1918 		Succeeded by
United States Minister to Romania
1913-1920 		Succeeded by
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