Magyar News, 2000. szeptember-2001. augusztus (11. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2001-07-01 / 11-12. szám
(-Jpcdw^lcm QlÁemncm^i What is in a Name ? by Géza Vermes At first glance, the name gives the impression of belonging to a German or Austrian nobleman. The nobility is correct, the nationality is not. In Hungary, about one quarter of the population has a German sounding family name, so "Neumann" does not indicate someone, who was bom and raised in Budapest - which this world wide known scientist certainly was. The "Von", however, is correct - though in a somewhat complicated manner. The indication, that a person belongs to the class of noblemen, is symbolized in German speaking countries with the preposition "von" ( meaning "from" ) preceding the family name, but in Hungary, such procedure would be meaningless : "von" is a German word and Hungarians indicate nobility differently - if they wish to indicate it all. These indications, however, are meaningless outside of Hungary. Therefore, when Hungarian noblemen took residence abroad, usually in the huge, German speaking Central European territory surrounding Hungary, these expatriates added the "von" - to their name - just to show "class" in those foreign lands. So, when young Neumann János left Hungary to complete his education in pre-Nazi Germany, he became " Johann von Neumann" (in Hungary, family name comes first, he also "translated" his first name); when he moved to the United States - and to world fame - he became John Von Neumann. How did the Neumann family acquire nobility? The approximately 10% of the population who constituted the ruling class during most of the thousand year history of Hungary, received their title - and their land holdings - usually for services to the Crown on the battle field. By the advent of Von Neumann at a hearing. the modem era, it was recognized that physical courage is not the only individual characteristic useful to the country and other accomplishments also merit recognition ( though usually not donation of land). John's father, Miksa Neumann, was a successful banker in Budapest. Being successful in the business world, could count as an accomplishment worth of recognition by the state. Whether the accomplishment was significant enough to merit ennoblement, was a matter of judgment for the government to decide. This judgment could be materially influenced by a donation to the political party in power. (Nothing unusual in this practice: in England, it is - or was recently - part of political reality). So, the time came when banker Neumann felt that beside the comforts provided by wealth, social prominence would add to his self worth and he and his immediate family joined the ranks of the lower nobility, with the pre-name “margitai”indicating nobility:”margitai Neumann Miksa.” So the full name of of his son became “margitai Neumann János” -as long as he stayed in Hungary. It is perhaps of interest to note that there was another Miksa Neumann (no relation to the banker) in Budapest who became a nobleman - but under very different circumstances. He was a famous heart specialist who was credited with establishing this medical specialty almost single handedly in Hungary. In this case, it was the Ministry of Education (the cognizant government department for a professor) which offered ennoblement to a worthy individual and it was Neumann who set a condition of acceptance to the government. He felt that his accomplishments were based on his love of learning, his appreciation of knowledge - attributes inculcated in him in early childhood by his father, a small town merchant with very little formal education. Neumann requested that his father - still alive - be made a nobleman. As nobility was hereditary, the Government's purpose would be accomplished as well. The request was granted - obviously, no donation was involved. The pre-name indicating nobility in case of the professor, was “héthársi.” He also spent some time abroad (Vienna), so there were two Miksa von Neumanns, oroginating from Budapest, elevated to nobility under very different circumstances.; in case of the professor, ennoblement followed truly unusual accomplishment. In case of John Von Neumann, it was exactly in reverse order: as we shall see, exceptional accomplishments followed ennoblement. Young John showed such unusual interest and understanding of mathematics Two people working on the ENIAC that had 18,000,000 electronic vacuum tubes. Page 4 John Von Neumann at an early computer
