Jakub Grajchman

Grajchman was born Jakub Graichman on 25 July 1822 in Hybe, Austrian Empire (now Slovakia).^[1][4] He would begin spelling Graichman Grajchman, the Slovak equivalent of his German surname, in later life in support of Ľudovít Štúr's standardization of the Slovak language.^[4] As a child, he attended school in Kežmarok, Gemer, and Levoča and had Peter Michal Bohúň as a classmate.^[1][5] He then studied Evangelical theory in Bratislava, Halle, and Berlin and attended University of Prešov, where he studied law.^[6][1][7] He taught in Bratislava and Košice (1848) before moving to Liptovský Mikuláš, where he was a notary and a court assistant until 1854.^[8] He was part of the revolutions across the Austrian Empire in 1848-1849.^[9] He then worked as a court assistant in Dolný Kubín 1854-1859 before returning to Liptovský Mikuláš, where he became a courtroom advisor.^[8] In 1867, he returned to his birthplace of Hybe to live out his last 11 years.^[8] He also lived in Liptovský Hrádok for a period.^[10]

He wrote many dramas, poems, articles, and plays in German and Slovak, sometimes using the "Štúrovo spirit of a national folk song."^[1][3] He contributed to such journals and almanacs as Orol tatranský (Orol tatránski), Nitra (Nitra), Lipa (Lipa), Sokol, Minerva, Slovanský almanach, and Živena ^[9] Grajchman was not a popular writer during his lifetime.^{[citation needed]} His works include Melancholický gavalier (play), Básnické spisy Jakuba Grajchmana (collection of poems), Ako to bolo? (love drama), Kto zaplatí nohavice? (comedy), Zakliaty tulipán (ballad), and Divná dáma (poem).^{[2][11][12][13]} Though Grajchman wrote primarily for amateur theatres, Kto zaplatí nohavice? was made into a radio program and a TV performance was broadcast in 1987.^[4][13]

Grajchman died on 9 June 1897 in Hybe, where he is buried.^[14][1]