Hungarian Heritage Review, 1991 (20. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)
1991-03-01 / 3. szám
C mPM Hungarlan-American Calendar m-ws-c» MARCH IN HUNGARIAN HISTORY Louis Kossuth [e. 1848] Wherever they may be living in exile from their native land, Hungarians all over the world will gather together this month to commemorate the Hungarian War of Independence of 1848-1849 and to pay homage to its greatest hero, Louis Kossuth. Strangely enough, however, very few, if any, of them will realize that they will also be marking an anniversary of his death. For it was 97 years ago this month on March 20th, 1894, that Louis Kossuth died in Italy at the age of 92! He was born 665 years ago this month on March 5th, 1326, and became one of the greatest kings of Hungary, even though he was descended from the Italian House of Anjou. The son of King Charles Robert of Hungary, he was King Louis the Great, the last of the Knight- Kings and a Christian monarch in the mold of his idol-the 11th Century King of Hungary, Saint László! It was on March 5th, 1888, 103 years ago this month, that Count Teleki, the great Hungarian Explorer, discovered two lakes in Central Africa. He named one of them Lake Rudolph, in honor of the Crown Prince of Hungary, and the other Lake Stefánia, in honor of Rudolph's wife. You can find both of these lakes on a map of Central Africa to this very day! On March 12th, 1879, 112 years ago this month, the Tisza River flooded and destroyed Szeged, the second largest city in Hungary. It was completely rebuilt with assistance from many of the world's largest cities, and this explains why it is that some of Szeged's best streets are named after them! It was on March 12th, 1241, 750 years ago this month that the "lights went out in Hungary". For it was on this day that the Mongol hordes under the command of Batu Khan broke through the Verecke Pass of the high Carpathians into Hungary and laid waste to its cities, towns, and people. It was on March 20th, 1919, 72 years ago this month, that Bela Kun and his gang off Russian-trained, Bolshevik gunmen took over Hungary from the inept regime of Count Mihály Karolyi and set up in the midst of chaos and misery a so-called "Dictatorship of the Proletariat". It was the prelude to what followed after the end of World War II. Incredible, but true! One of the "proofs" accepted as valid by the Trianon Treaty Commission in 1920 to justify their approval for the creation of a new nation called "Czechoslovakia" at —continued next page 14 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW MARCH 1991
