Hungarian Heritage Review, 1987 (16. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1987-08-01 / 8. szám
AUGUST 1 • 1664: The Habsburg-led Christian and Ottoman armies clashed at Szentgotthard (Vas county.) It was characteristic of the timid foreign policy pursued by Vienna that — even though the Christian forces were victorious in the battle — the treaty of Vasvar (August 10) was favorable to Constantinople, allowing the Ottomans to retain all their recent military conquests. 1885: The chemical researcher GYÖRGY JÓZSEF HEVESI was born in Budapest. Between 1911 and 1913 he worked with Rutherford in Manchester, and after 1919 with Niels Bohr in Copenhagen. Jointly with D. Coster, in 1922 he discovered element #72 of the periodic table, which — after the Latin name of Copenhagen — they called Hafnium. As a recognition of his achievements in radioactive isotope research, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1943, and the “Atoms for Peace” medal in 1959. (See: Adventures in Radio-Isotope Research: The Collected Papers of József Hevesi, I-II, NY, 1962.) 1922: The engineer-inventor DONAT BANKI died in Budapest. Along with Janos Csonka, he was influential in the early manufacturing of combustion engines in Hungary. Among his patents are the carburetor (1893), the high-pressure combustion engine (1894) and a turbine which opened new prospects for small hydroelectric plants (1917.) 3 • 1791: The metallurgist KÁROLY MADERSPRACH (ne: Madersbacher) was born in Oravica (today: Oravita, Romania.) His foundry was the first to construct a tensionrod suspension bridge in 1833. In 1849, because of her show of sympathy for the Hungarian cause, Imperial authorities had Madersprach’s wife publicly lashed, driving him to commit suicide. 1910: The comparative folklorist LAJOS KATONA, cofounder of the Hungarian Folklore Society, editor of the Ethnographia, Elet and the Egyetemes Philologiai Szemle died in Budapest. 1958: The internationally known sculptor SÁNDOR FINTA died in Los Angeles. 4 • 1930: The Kossuth Prize winning historian GYÖRGY RÁNKI was born in Budapest. 8 • 1799: The poet FERENC KÖLCSEY, author of Hungary’s national anthem, (Himnusz) was born in Szodemeter (Hajdu-Bihar county.) 13 • 1849: The army fighting for Hungary’s independence from Habsburg control, commanded by general ARTUR GÖRGEY, unconditionally surrendered before overwhelming Russian forces. The 32,000 men laid down their arms under the citadel of Világos (today: Siria, Romania.) 1865: One of the best-known Hungarian physicians, IGNÁC SEMMELWEIS died in Vienna. While working at a Vienna clinic, he demonstrated a connection between the common child-bed fever and infection, and recommended the thorough disinfection of hands and implements as a measure of prevention. Although leading medical authorities of his time rejected his views, Semmelweis is now widely lauded as “the Saviour of Mothers.” 16 • 1956: The actor BELA LUGOSI died in Hollywood. After a promising start as a serious actor, in 1921 he emigrated to the US, where he played primarily horror roles (Dracula.) 1884: One of the landmarks of the Hungarian capital, the East Railroad Station (Keleti pályaudvar) was opened. 22 • 1837: The forerunner of the Hungarian National Theatre, the Pesti Magyar Színház, opened with the performance of a historical play written by Mihály Vörösmarty. 1895: The traveller EDE LÁSZLÓ ALMÁSI was born in Borostyánkő (Vas county.) In the course of traversing Northern Africa by camel, automobile and airplane, he discovered a number of geographic locations and archeological sites. 24 • 1842: Work began on the construction of the first permanent bridge connecting the cities of Buda and Pest (the Lanchid.) 29 • 1526: The royal Hungarian army suffered a disastrous defeat at MOHÁCS: with the king dead and central authority in shambles, the country was left defenseless. 1541: The Ottoman Turks took possession of Hungary’s capital, Buda. The city was to remain occupied for 145 years. 1940: The Second Vienna Award was proclaimed: As one provision of the agreement, the heavily Hungarian-inhabited parts of Transylvania (including the land of the Székely, Kolozsvár and Nagyvarad) were returned to Hungary. 20 HUNGARIAN HERITAGE REVIEW AUGUST 1987
