Jan Masaryk (1886-1948) was the popular and internationally respected foreign minister of Czechoslovakia for a number of years and son of the country's first president. His life came to an abrupt end in an infamous 1948 incident, just weeks after a swift Communist takeover of the government. Masaryk's body was found in the courtyard of the Czernin Palace, the government building in which the foreign ministry and his private quarters were housed. His death was announced as a suicide.

Jan Garrigue Masaryk was born on September 14, 1886 in Prague, where his father was a professor of philosophy. He was the third of four Masaryk children. His mother, Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk, was an American. She and her husband created a household that was decidedly liberal and intellectual in atmosphere. Masaryk emerged as the black sheep of the children, however. He was a poor student, described as restless and excitable in temperament...