Hungarian Heritage Review, 1986 (15. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1986-01-01 / 1. szám
JANUARY 1986 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW 9 (3 lt ISf Kemplelen’s Chess Robot The month of January is significant in the annals of Hungarian history in that important events occurred, babies destined to become great men and women were born, and great men and women died. It is also linked to two Hungarians whose amazing achievements and exploits lie deeply buried and almost forgotten under the dusty weight of time. One of these incredible characters was Farkas Kempelen (1734-1804) and the other was István Turr, whose date of birth and death at the age of 84 is difficult to pin down. Farkas Kempelen, who was born on January 23rd, 1734, could have given Thomas A. Edison a tough race to determine who was the greater inventor. In fact, Kempelen was the first to observe and record the movements of sound and, from this study, he was able to build the first “speaking machine”, the forerunner of Edison’s phonograph. He also invented a method for teaching the blind by means of printed words, which led to the development of the Braille system by Louis Braille in 1829. In addition, this Hungarian genius was a brilliant civil engineer and architect whose accomplishments included the Pozsony Pontoon Bridge, the Schonbruun Fountain, and cotton mills in southern Hungary. Strangely enough, however, what he actually became famous for, was his “chess playing machine”, which he invented to please the Empress Maria Theresa, who was an avid chess player. After demonstrating his chess playing “robot” at the Court in Vienna, he went on the road with it throughout Europe taking on and beating all comers, including Frederick the Great and Napoleon. This “Rube Goldberg” contraption finally ended up in the United States where it was destroyed in a mysterious fire. Kempelen never revealed how his machine worked and the secret died with him. Several years ago, believe it or not, a comedy skit on TV was pegged on his “chess playing machine”, inside of which a midget was operating it! István Turr was an adventurous “jack-of-all-trades”. He was a soldier, a “Freedom Fighter”, and an engineer. When the Sardinians launched their ill-fated bid for freedom, Turr, on January 24, 1849, organized a “Hungarian Legion” to go to their assistance. When the rebellion was put down, he suddenly showed up in Germany and got involved in the German fracas with Austria. When this bloody squabble ended, he packed up and wfint to South America and fought in one revolution after another. When there were no more battles to fight, he went back to Europe and met up with Louis Kossuth in Italy. There Kossuth talked him into recruiting and organizing a new “Hungarian Legion” to fight on the side of the French in their war with Austria. But, when Paris and Vienna “buried the hatchet”, Turr’s legion, as such, was mustered out. Turr and his men then offered their services to Giuseppe Garibaldi, the great Italian “Freedom Fighter”. By the time victory was achieved, Turr had become Garibaldi’s Chief-of-Staff and had married the niece of Napoleon III. Having had his fill of warfare, he returned to Hungary, became a noted Civil Engineer, and, finally, helped to build both the Suez and Panama Canals!
