Technikatörténeti szemle 19. (1992)

KÖNYVISMERTETÉS - Papers of the First „MINERALKONTOR” International Conference on the History of Chemistry and Chemical Industry (Veszprém, 12-16 August, 1991)

ISTVÁN HANNUS* THE WRITER ISTVÁN ÖRKÉNY AND CHEMISTRY Introduction One of the most popular Hungarian writers both in Hungary and abroad in the sixties and seventies was István Örkény (1912—1979). He became famous through his „patented" mini-stories (in exact translation: one-minute stories) and his grotesque dramas (The Tót Family, Cat's Play). One of the roots of his art lay in his scientific knowledge. He had considerable connections with chemistry through his ancestors, his chemical studies and his work in a pharmaceutical factory. Ancestors His mother's family, the Pető family, lived in a small village, Verebély, near Nyitra, in a district that now forms part of Slovakia. They owned a small vinegar factory for many years. When he was a schoolboy, István Örkény spent his holidays in his grandfather's house. In an interview many years later, he said: „The vinegar factory is still in my memory, whenever I get a salad and feel the smell of vinegar, my youth immediately comes to my mind" (1). The name of his father's family was originally Österreicher, they dealt with the production of and trading in alcohol and liquors. The decision to change the name of the family was taken by his grandfather at the beginning of the century. The future writer was therefore born as Örkény. His father was a pharmacist and the owner of several pharmacies, the most famous of which is still functioning in Budapest, at the corner of Rákóczi Street and József Boulevard. Another of his ancestors, Josef Manes Österreicher (1756—1832), was a physician. The theme of his dissertation was the analysis of the different kinds of medicinal water in Buda. In this work he applied the analytical method of his master, Professor Winterl. The dissertation was published in 1781 under the title: .Analyses aquarian Budensium praemissa methodo prof. Winterl." (J. Winterl was the first chemistry professor at the first Hungarian university.) It may be mentioned that the basis of this method was the phlogiston theory. In spite of this, their results were quite good. As an example: they determined „water-dissolved phlogiston". It was their hypothesis that phlogiston is liberated from water during boiling with nitric acid. In modern terms, therefore, they measured the oxygen uptake of water in this way (2). •Applied Chemistry Department, József Attila University, 6720 Szeged, Rerrich tér 1.