Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
1st President of Czechoslovakia (1918-1935). On October 26, 1918, he led a gathering of 25 delegates from 12 Central & East European nations at Independence Hall, and delivered the Declaration of Common Aims, a Declaration of Independence for these nations.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
As the First World War drew to a close in October 1918, the scholar-statesman Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk gathered delegates from a dozen Central and Eastern European peoples at Philadelphia's Independence Hall — the very birthplace of American independence — to proclaim a Declaration of Common Aims. Within weeks he would become the first president of a newly independent Czechoslovakia. Choosing Independence Hall was no accident: these emerging nations consciously drew on the American revolutionary example as they broke free from the collapsing empires of Europe.
Why it matters
It marks the moment America's founding ideals were borrowed by a new generation of European democracies, and honors the deep ties between Philadelphia and the immigrant communities whose homelands were being reborn.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Congress Hallnearby · Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Hallnearby · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philosophical Hallnearby · PA
- Old City Hallnearby · Philadelphia
- Liberty Bell Centernearby · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank0.1 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- Liberty Bellnearby · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Second Bank of the United States0.1 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- President's House0.1 mi away
- Carpenters' Hall0.2 mi away · 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- First Bank of the United States0.2 mi away · 120 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Benjamin Franklin Grave0.3 mi away
Food & drink
- LaScala'snearby · 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Red Owl Tavernnearby · 433 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Thank You Thank You Coffee Roasters0.1 mi away · 700 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Don Barriga0.1 mi away · 703 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Sakartvelo0.1 mi away · 705 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Time & Peace0.1 mi away · 36 South 7th Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel0.2 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Morris House Hotel0.2 mi away · 225 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- AKA Washington Square0.2 mi away · 834 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Best Western Plus Independence Park Hotel0.3 mi away · 237 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Apple Hostels Philadelphia0.3 mi away · 32 South Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District0.3 mi away · 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
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Related people
- · Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
Related events
- · Declaration of Common Aims (1918)
Themes & tags
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