Josef Šebestián Daubek

Josef Šebestián Daubek (24 December 1842, Polička - 15 July 1922, Liteň) was a Czech-Austrian nobleman who served as a politician, entrepreneur and patron of the arts.

Josef Šebestián Daubek; portrait by František Ženíšek (1878)
The Daubek Coat-of-Arms

Biography

His father, Josef František Doubek, was a well-known businessman and politician. His mother was the daughter of the poet, Šebestián Hněvkovský. He attanded a Realschule in Prague, followed by a business and commercial education in Vienna; where he married Irma Welsová in 1884.[1]

In 1873 he became a shareholder in the family's mills in Brněnec; becoming the owner in 1878. Four years later, he acquired the family estates in Liteň and Dolní Vlence, in the Beroun District.[2] This led to involvement in the distilling and brewing industry; interests which later passed to his son, Josef Daubek (1888–1934). Together with Karl Kruis (1851-1917), he established the first distillery training school in Předlitavsko. Shortly after, he was appointed a member of the Institute of Economics at the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 1892, he became Chairman of the Association of Commercial Mills and was knighted in 1896.[2]

In addition to his business interests, he was active in politics; serving three terms as the District Mayor in Polička (1874, 1890, 1893). For many years he served on the Municipal Council in Brněnec and the District Committee for Beroun.[2]

Following a by-election in 1892, he became a member of the Bohemian Diet.[3] He was re-elected for a full term in 1895; standing for the Conservative Estate Party.[2]

He was also a patron of the arts and formed a life-long friendship with the painter, František Ženíšek, whom he engaged to decorate his home in Liteň. Ženíšek later accompanied him on his honeymoon to Holland; painting the "official portrait" of the newlywed couple.[4] Many other artists received significant support from him; including Josef Mánes, Quido Mánes, Josef Václav Myslbek and Antonín Wiehl.

References
  1. Biography @ the Historický ústav Akademie věd ČR.
  2. Biography by Michal Navrátil, Almanach sněmu království Českého 1895–1901.
  3. Minutes @ the Parlament České republiky, Poslanecká sněmovna
  4. Daubek and the Artists he supported @ Zámek Liteň.
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