He invented the word "robot", which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek.

Čapek was born in Hronov, Bohemia (Austria-Hungary, later Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic) in 1887.

His illustrated stories Povídání o Pejskovi a Kočičce (English translation as The Adventures of Puss and Pup[4]) are considered classics of Czech children's literature.

Due to his critical attitude towards national socialism and Adolf Hitler, he was arrested after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

In June 1945 Rudolf Margolius, accompanied by Čapek's wife Jarmila Čapková, went to Bergen-Belsen to search for him.