Painter and poet Josef Čapek was born on this date in 1887.

Why should you care?

Because Josef was the older brother to Karel Čapek, the author of the 1921 play “R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots),” in which the term “robot” was introduced. And contrary to popular opinion, it was Josef, not Karel, who coined that word, as reported in this article written by Karel in 1933:

“Listen, Josef,” the author began, “I think I have an idea for a play.”

“What kind,” the painter mumbled (he really did mumble, because at the moment he was holding a brush in his mouth).

The author told him as briefly as he could.

“Then write it,” the painter remarked, without taking the brush from his mouth or halting work on the canvas. The indifference was quite insulting.

“But,” the author said, “I don’t know what to call these artificial workers. I could call them Labori, but that strikes me as a bit bookish.”

“Then call them Robots,” the painter muttered, brush in mouth, and went on painting. And that’s how it was. Thus was the word Robot born; let this acknowledge its true creator.

So let’s hear it for Josef Čapek, without whom there’d be no robots, leaving us all to live in a world in which Isaac Asimov had titled his famous collection, I, Labori.