Harold Gordon Skilling (February 28, 1912 – March 2, 2001) was a Canadian political scientist, known for his expertise on the history of Czechoslovakia and support for the Charter 77 dissident movement.
[2] On 4 September 1937 he attended Thomas Garrigue Masaryk's last public appearance as president, at the anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Zborov in Strahov Stadium in Prague.
[1][2] During the communist era, Skilling was an active supporter of dissidents such as Vaclav Havel, who he visited at his cottage in Hrádeček,[2] and the wider Charter 77 movement, smuggling newspapers, journals, and books into the country to encourage dissident activists,[1][2] including his own book, Charter 77 and Human Rights in Czechoslovakia, which was strongly supportive of the movement.
[1] According to Radio Prague, "few would question [Skilling's] status as the most important North American historian of Czechoslovak 20th century history.
[2] In 2012, the centenary of Skilling's birth was marked by an international conference and exhibition about his life and work at the Museum Kampa in Prague.