Czech gymnast and coach (died 2016)

Věra Čáslavská

Věra Čáslavská was a Czechoslovak artistic gymnast and Czech sports official. She won a total of 22 international titles between 1959 and 1968 including seven Olympic gold medals, four world titles and eleven European championships. Čáslavská is the most decorated Czech gymnast in history and is one of only three female gymnasts, along with the Soviet Larisa Latynina and American Simone Biles, to win the all-around gold medal at two Olympics. She remains the only gymnast, male or female, to have won an Olympic gold medal in each individual event.

Born

1942

May 3

Died

Living

Era

1940s

Country

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About

Věra, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1942 Born

Also on May 3

What else happened on this day, through history

752 Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico, assumes the throne.
996 German king Otto III chooses his cousin Bruno of Carinthia as pope following the death of Pope John XV. Bruno becomes pope under the name Gregory V.
1481 The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties.
1491 Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.

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The world in 1942

When Věra arrived

april 15 World War II: The George Cross is awarded "to the island fortress of Malta" by King George VI.
april 17 World War II: French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Königstein Fortress.
april 18 World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.
april 18 Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on May 3

Amaro Pargo 1678–1747 Spanish corsair (died 1747) Ashok Gehlot 1951– Indian politician, 21st Chief Minister of Rajasthan Bernhard von Bülow 1849–1929 German soldier and politician, Chancellor of Germany (died 1929) Dulé Hill 1975– American actor José de la Riva Agüero 1783–1858 Peruvian soldier and politician, 1st President of Peru and 2nd President of North Peru (born 1783) Karl Allmenröder 1896–1917 German soldier and pilot (born 1896) Konstantine Gamsakhurdia 1893–1975 Georgian author (born 1893) Pete Seeger 1919–2014 American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (born 1919) Sanath Nishantha 1975–2024 Sri Lankan politician (born 1975)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1942

Alvin Stardust 1942–2014 English singer and actor (born 1942) Andraé Crouch 1942–2015 American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor (born 1942) Andrew Robinson 1942– American actor and director Bill Conti 1942– American composer and conductor Bob Hoskins 1942–2014 English actor (born 1942) Connie Hawkins 1942– American basketball player (died 2017) Danny Schechter 1942–2015 American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015) David Stern 1942–2020 American lawyer and businessman (born 1942) Dino Zoff 1942– Italian footballer

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More to explore

Věra's birthday May 3 Věra's zodiac Taurus When Věra arrived 1942