Technikatörténeti szemle 18. (1990-1991)

TANULMÁNYOK - Trudeau, Terence: The Work and Life of John Csonka

The Life and Work of John (Jdnos) Csonka Csonka was born on January 22, 1852 in Szeged, Hungary. In those days Szeged was the second largest city in Hungary. Csonka was the youngest of the seven children of Vincent Csonka, the well respected guild master of the blacksmiths in Szeged and vicinity. John's father was a true master of his craft, who operated a workshop with the help of several live-in helpers. He not only designed and built wind-mills, water-mills, oh presses, fire pumps, ets., but also made the finest medical and dental instruments for the city hospital. Following an ancient tradition, he spoke and wrote Latin fluently. The house in which John was born, withstood the devastating flood of 1879, that spared only 334 of Szeged's 6000 houses. Since 1965 this house is marked with a commemorative plaque. As a boy of three, John watched the first locomotive in Szeged being unloaded from a ship onto the shore of the River Tisza. Blessed with an excellent memory, he never forgot this event, and was always able to describe it win great detail. This scene sparked the little boy's interest in engines of ah sorts, and proved to be a turning point in his life. Already at a very young age he demonstrated courage and independence. At one time, during a horse race for cavalry officers, a rider was thrown off by his mount, and the wild horse galloped away. It was the young boy John, son of Vincent, the guild master, who finally caught and quieted down the high-strung animal. John was not yet ten, when he observed that one of his friends was drowning in the River Tisza. Although he himself was not as yet a good swimmer, Csonka did not hesitate to jump into the river to save the life of his friend. During his high school years he studied German as an exchange student in a German-speaking city. At 14 he started to learn his father's trade. By 19, he was already working in the round-house and locomotive shop at Szeged. At 21, he went to Budapest, the capital of the country, to enhance his knowledge of locomotives. Here a serious leg injury confined him to a hospital bed for a long period of time. He used this opportunity to learn French. At 22 he travelled abroad to improve his technical expertise. He worked in factories in Austria, Switzerland, and finally Paris, then the technical and scientific center of the world. It was during his two year stay in the French capital, that at an exhibition he saw gas engines for the first time in his life. Csonka had photographic memory. He never forgot a technical design after catching a glimpse of it even once. Later he could make sketches of everything he saw. Always eager to learn, he remained undeterred by hardship. He liked to joke about the fact that in Paris the water froze in his washbasin when the weather turned cold. At 25 he returned home, but not before he visited London and other industrial centers in England. On February 11, 1877, he was appointed head of the training workshop of the Budapest Technical University. He kept this position for more than 48 years, till 1925, instructing two generations of mechanical engineers. He taught them not only the technical skills they would need, but also to appreciate hard physical work, by