The Eighth Tribe, 1978 (5. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-08-01 / 8. szám
August, 1978 THE EIGHTH TRIBE Page 9 Out Heritage in America Column Editor: Joseph Széplaki HUNGARIANS IN AMERICA (continued from, previous issues) Reprinted from: The Hungarians in America 1583-1974; by Joseph Széplaki. The book can be ordered from the editor. 1927 The first history of Hungarian- Ainericans was published in Hungarian by the Szabadság newspaper in Cleveland. Written by Géza Kende, it was entitled Magyarok Amerikában, Az amerikai magyarság története 1583-1927 (Hungarians in America: The History of Hungarians in America, 1583- 1927). Kende’s two-volume, 874- page book deserves much credit for his painstaking original research. 1928 March 15. Hungarians in New York erected a bronze statue of Kossuth on Riverside Drive. The memorial was unveiled in the presenes of a delegation from the Hungarian Parliament. Géza D. Berkó, editor of the largest American Hungarian-language newspaper, A- merikai Magyar Népszava (American Hungarian People’s Voice), had spearheaded the drive for funds. 1929 August 22-24. The first International Congress of Hungarians was held in Hungary. The avowed aim of the Congress was to try to unite the Hungarians scattered throughout the world. This seemed to be the first official recognition in Hungary proper of a Hungarian diaspora as well as of the immense energies and potentialities inherent in it. Fifty-two Hungarian American organizations sent 125 delegates to represent them at this Congress. The American Hungarian Federation held a national meeting in Buffalo and discussed extensively the dismemberment of Hungary and the aims of reunification. Previously there were two other meetings held in Cleveland and devoted to the same subject. 1930 Charles Feleky, the Hungarianborn American musician, book collector, researcher, and the manager of the Martin Beck Theater, died this year. He was the first scholarly researcher of Hungarian materials in the United States. His library consisted of more than 10.000 magazine articles and over 6.000 volumes. Feleky also spent twenty-five years in compiling a bibliography of all works pertaining to Hungary and Hungarians. In 1930, the bibliography consisted of nineteen manuscript volumes. Unfortunately, his valuable collection was distributed among American libraries, and the bibliography was lost. Only the catalogue of his library was microfilmed by the Library of Congress. 1931 July 15-16. An airplane named “Justice for Hungary” crossed the Atlantic Ocean, piloted by two Hungarians (George Endrész and Alexander Magyar), to protest the Treaty of Trianon. 1935 Hungarian-born Adolph Zukor became the chairman of the Paramount Pictures Corporation. He became one of the greatest film producers in Hollywood. 1938 August 16-19. Two hundred and eighty-three Hungarian-American delegates representing 283 Hungarian-American organizations attended the Second International Congress of Hungarians in Budapest. 1939 The delegation of Americans of Hungarian origin presented to the New York Historical Society a plaque of Colonel Kovats, the Hungarian-born hero of the War of Independence. The plaque had been executed by Alexander Finta, a Hungarian-born artist. The American Hungarian People’s Voice (Amerikai Magyar Népszava) celebrated its fortieth anniversary. A special jubilee edition contained congratulatory messages from President Roosevelt, Governor Lehman, and a number of prominent Hungarian societies. Edmund Vasváry, a dedicated researcher of Hungarian materials in the United States, compiled a work entitled Lincoln s Hungarian Heroes: The Participation of Hungarians in the Civil War. He has collected approximately 375 volumes of materials and compiled a card catalogue of biographical and bibliographical data arranged in about 12,000 entries. In 1974, he received the Abraham Lincoln Award of the American Hungarian Studies Foundation. 1940 Ferenc Molnár, the well-known Hungarian playwright and novelist, arrived in America. His bestknown play, Liliom, inspired both the musical and the film Carousel. Many of his witty and elegant comedies were successfully performed in America and England in English translation. The 42nd Anniversary “Press Day Festival” of the California Hungarians will be held on Sunday, September 17, 1978 at the Croatian American Center, 11623 So. Budlong Ave., Los Angeles, Cal., from 11 a.m. till midnight. Plan to attend. Everyone cordially invited.
