František Vladislav Hek

A fire in 1806 completely destroyed his shop and he lost money during the state bankruptcy of the Austrian Empire in 1811.

In 1820, he published book of epigrams Velký pátek (English: Great Friday), a scathing critique of provincialism in Dobruška.

An example of his epigrams is: "The greater the fool, the more titles he needs" (Czech: Čím větší vůl, tím více titulů).

Hek was sentenced to three weeks in prison, though he was pardoned due to bad health, and was harassed by authorities in Dobruška ever thereafter.

While living in Ochranov (Herrnhut), he translated old texts of Czech exiles into German.