Publisher, community activist.
Born at Vlasim, Czechoslovakia in 1880, he emigrated to Canada in 1903 and worked as a tailor for year, then turned to the bookselling business. From 1904 to 1906, he traveled across prairie Canada, selling books written in Ukrainian, German, and Slovak. In 1906, he started the Ukrainian Book Sellers store at 850 Main Street in Winnipeg that specialized in foreign-language books. During the course of his working life, he published over 60 foreign-language books. Later he added music to his inventory, remaining as General Manager of the store until his death. He also started a Polish language weekly newspaper, Polish Times Czas.
In 1919, he served as President of the National Publishers Limited, which published the Canadian Farmer, Der Nordwesten, and Croatian Voice. During the Second World War, he was President of the Czechoslovakian National Alliance. He was Superintendent of the German Baptist Church Sunday School for 35 years and founded the Czechoslovakian Baptist Mission.
He died at Winnipeg on 20 April 1951, survived by Rosa Misera (1882-1974) and five children, including Charles Ernest Dojack, and was buried in the Elmwood Cemetery. In 1968, a bronze bust of him, sculpted by Leo Mol, was unveiled at the Centennial Concert Hall. A replica of his Winnipeg store is at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec and some of his possessions are held at the Manitoba Museum.
“Frank Dojacek funeral set for Wednesday,” Winnipeg Free Press, 21 April 1951. [Manitoba Legislative Library, Biographical Scrapbook B10]
“Dojacek bust unveiled,” Winnipeg Free Press, 29 October 1968, page 55.
Obituary [Rosa Dojacek], Winnipeg Free Press, 15 April 1974, page 33.
“Our history … for all to see,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 August 1997, page 1.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 28 December 2021
Memorable Manitobans
This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.
Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text:
Custom SearchBrowse surnames beginning with:
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | ZBrowse deaths occurring in:
1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024
Send corrections and additions to this page
to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.caCriteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements
Help us keep
history alive!
