Anton Cermak

Anton Cermak was born on May 9, 1873. As a small boy, he left for America with his parents. He started working in the mines just like his father, but later he started attending night school, changed several jobs, and with the money he saved, bought his own carriage business. He became involved in local politics and in 1900 accepted the post of bailiff. Two years later he was elected to the Illinois State Legislature, and in 1909 he successfully ran for the Chicago City Council as a Democratic candidate. In 1922, he became a Cook County councilman and, from 1928, also the leader of the Democratic Party of this important district with four million inhabitants and a large Czech minority. On April 7, 1931, Anton Joseph Cermak was elected mayor of the city of Chicago.

On February 15, it will be 90 years since the assassination attempt on US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Miami, during which Mayor Cermak, a great supporter of the President, was seriously injured. He succumbed to his injuries in Miami, Florida on March 6, 1933. The casket was taken by special train to Chicago.

All along the way and then in Chicago, in front of his birthplace, at the city hall and during the ceremony at the main Chicago stadium, hundreds of thousands of people said goodbye to the popular politician, successful mayor and Czech compatriot. The coffin was then transported through the crowded streets of Chicago to the Czech National Cemetery, where 150,000 people came to say goodbye to the popular mayor. Antonín Čermák is buried in the family tomb at the Czech National Cemetery in Chicago.

You can learn more about his life HERE

Presentation about Anton Cermak (PDF, 3 MB)

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Čermák's birthday, a number of commemorative events were held in Chicago at the beginning of May in cooperation with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Chicago, the Prague Committee of Chicago Sister Cities Inter., World Business Chicago, the TGM Czech School and the Bohemian National Cemetery Assoc.

On Saturday, May 6, 2023, wreaths were laid at the tomb of Antonín Čermák at the Bohemian National Cemetery in the presence of many distinguished guests, including Anton Cermak's grandson Kerner, Consul General Jaroslav Kantůrek, Kladno Municipality Secretary Zdeněk Slepička and students of the TGM Czech School. Attendees of the commemorative event were able to enjoy the cultural program at the cemetery. On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, a commemorative reception with the personal participation of the current mayor of the City of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot  in honor of the 150th anniversary of the birthay of the 44th mayor of Chicago, Antonín Cermák, was held in the representative premises of the city in the Preston Bradley Hall of the Chicago Cultural Center. On the occasion of this important anniversary, the mayor declared May 9, 2023 as Antonín Cermák "ANTON CERMAK DAY IN CHICAGO".