Kaszab Zoltán (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 72. (Budapest 1980)

Kováts, D.: In memoriam Dr. József Ujhelyi (1910-1979)

Several times he participated in state scholarship, and made research and collecting trips to different parts of Hungary. In 1938 he was on a 6-weeks voyage in Bulgaria, making valuable collections, which were presented to and deposited in the Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest. ÚJHELYI made extensive travels in many parts of Transylvania and the Carpathians. In 1943 he was at the Collegium Hungaricum in Vienna on a state scholarship, working on taxonomical problems, beside directors DR. K. H. RECHINGER, DR. F. PETRÁK, PROF. DR. L. GEITLER and DR. E. JANCHEN and took a study tour in the Alps. He was invited to be director in the Botanical Department of the Hungarian Natural History Museum in November, 1945, which post he occupied with distinction until 1950. At that time of considerable difficulties, after the Second World War, the Botanical Department was seriously damaged, almost in ruin. It was ÚJHELYI who started reconstruction with such energy that the Department was soon rebuilt, and the irreplaceable, valuable herbaria were put in aluminium boxes a novelty and quite modern at that time. Under his leadership the stalf of the Department rose from 9 to 22. At that time ÚJHELYI was vice president of the Botanical Society. From 1950 to 1952 he was appointed to the National Centre of Museums and Monuments, as a head of the Group of Natural History there. Here he took active part in development of museology, organized numerous exhibitions and trainings for museologists. He was one of the foundation members of the Hungarian Biological Society and became the secretary later vice secretary-general. He took part in reorganizing and joining the Society to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His work was appreciated by several medals, decorations and rewards. The work of science organization much hindered his researches, so in 1952 he came back to the Hungarian Natural History Museum. He travelled in many parts of the Balkan Peninsula, studying and listing the local vegetation, gathering specimens for the Herbarium, also plants and seeds for his experimental garden. In 1955, collected with PROF. DR. S. JÁVORKA, in 1956 visited Albania, later in 1959 again Bulgaria, in 1966 Czechoslovakia and in 1969 Transylvania, making valuable collections, mainly of grasses which are deposited in the herbaria of the Hungarian Natural History Museum. He edited the botanical periodical of the Museum "Fragmenta Botanica", from 1961 to 1969 and was member of the editorial board until his death. Besides his work of education and science organization, he never forgot his original aim and his real profession: scientific research. His floristical activity and travels, morphological knowledge and ecological views were essential for the modern aspect of research of evolution, which was represented by him. He was interested in anatomy, later in cytology and in connection with this he grew plants at an experimental garden. ÚJHELYI had a rich plant collection, partly from his own gathering. He connected modern biosystematical research with the traditional herbarium treatment. ÚJHELYI made an up-to-date treatment of the species of Sesleria of Europe and Asia Minor, the European species of Koeleria and Lotus with his intuitive point of view and with his own method for studying the structure of the epidermis. Besides this in 1965 he developed interest in the species of Achillea. In his opinion the evolutionary problems of species could be solved by diverse points of view and by different methods. He made a modern taxonomic approach with herbarial systematics, locality, areal-geographical, paleobotanical, anatomical and genetical investigations. ÚJHELYI attempted to make his studies as many sides as possible, in order to eliminate the predominance of any one special branch of study in the reconstruction of the way of evolution. He confessed himself to be a researcher of evolution rather than a systematical worker. During his study of scientific taxonomy, on a modern basis, he published many chromosome data and described some 50 new species, with a new section and numerous po-