Jan Palach

Jan Palach (August 11, 1948 - January 19, 1969) was a student who committed suicide by self-immolation (January 16, 1969).

The Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968 was designed to crush the liberalising reforms Alexander Dubček's government during the Prague Spring. Palach died after setting himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czechoslovakia in January 1969 in protest.

His actions made him a national hero, and he is commemorated in Prague by a bronze cross embedded at the spot where he fell outside the National Museum, as well as a square named in his honour.