Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 81. (Budapest 1989)

Kecskeméti, T. ; Nagy, I. Z.: Fiftieth anniversary of the independent Geological and Palaeontological Department of the Hungarian Natural History Museum

ANNALES HISTORICO-NATURALES MUSEI NATIONALIS HUNGARICI Tomus 81. Budapest, 1990 p. 15-16. Fiftieth anniversary of the independent Geological and Palaeontologi cal Department of the Hungarian Natural History Museum by T. KECSKEMÉTI & I. Z. NAGY, Budapest The Natural History Department containing geological and palaeontological material was already part of the Hungarian National Museum at the time of its foundation in 1802. This is why we can say that the Geological and Palaeontological Department is in fact of the same age as the National Museum. The vast growing of the natural historical material over the years made it necessary to separate the zoological, botanical and geological collections from the historical and archeological ones, and to turn them into independent units. Thus in 1870 the Natural History Museum was established, with its geological collections in the Mineralogical and Palaeontological Department. The independent department began to grow extremely rapidly, and in a few decades it became one of the most important European collections in this field. Patron ANDOR SEMSEY had imperishable merits in enriching the geological collection by donating 4 million golden crowns between 1878 and 1920. After World War I the geological and life sciences developed enormously. Their strong differentiation put new life in mineralogy/petrography and in palaeontology. Especially the latter made spectacular progress: new research tendencies, new results and new techniques evolved. The improvement could also be noticed in Hungary, thus in the native palaeontological research centers as well. The progress made further differentiation necessary. This was fortunately recognized by SÁNDOR PONGRÁCZ, a zoologist and palaeontologist, director of the Natural History Museum in 1937, who proposed the Museum Council to separate the Mineralogical and the Palaeontological Departments in December 1938. The necessity of this separation was dictated by „the modern tendencies of research methods and techniques, and the status of palaeontological collecting". After the personal conditions of the partition had been assured, the Museum Council passed the proposition on to the Ministry of Culture that accepted the separation of the departments on 6 February 1939. The activities of the independent Geological and Palaeontological Department could be started and accomplished. In the field of science the followers of the palaeobiological tendency (SZÁLAI [1900-1980], TASNADI KUBACSKA [1902-1977], KRETZOI) published important results. The stratigraphical elaborations based on taxonomy were achieved via the studies of NOSZKY sr. (1880-1951; Oligocène molluscs of Óbuda and Eger), CSEPREGHY-MEZNERICS (1906-1977; Miocene molluscs), PONGRÁCZ (18871945; Eocene and Miocene insects) and BARTHA (Pliocene molluscs). Besides, a palaeontological exhibition was constructed in 1940 showing the fossil life in its evolution.