Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 94. (Budapest 2002)

Matskási, I.: Bicentenary of the Hungarian Natural History Museum

Department of Zoology As witnessed by old inventories, the collection including even the first animals (mainly butterflies, gastropods, and molluscs) was purchased from Ms ANNA JORDÁN of Nagyszombat in 1811, not long after the establishment of the National Museum. We do not know too much about other early items, a good part of them became annihilated in the Big Rood of Pest, in 1838. Our oldest specimens can be found in TÓBIÁS KOY's butterfly collection from the late 1700s, which were purchased alongside with IMRE FRlVALDSZKY's material in 1864. IMRE FRIVALDSZKY and JÁNOS SALAMON PETÉNYI worked as guardians in the museum we would call them scientic officers today -, who were engaged in enriching the collections by dividing zoology into two big areas, invertebrates (mainly hexapodans) and vertebrates. During the Hungarian War of Independence in 1849, the zoological collection including nearly 40,000 specimens took up eight halls in the building of the National Museum. As various collections started outgrowing the confines of the National Museum and split, the independent Department of Zoology was established in 1870. The Department had a staff of seven by the end of the century and at the centenary, in 1902, the number of specimens preserved here reached one million. Though the majority of materials were the blossoms of individual collecting work conducted in the Carpathian Basin and the Mediterranean Region, the collection got enhanced with items originating from other continents through expeditions, collecting tours, donations and exchanges. Materials coming from busy hexapod traders of the time implied an outstanding contribution, and today these are the materials that constitute the most valuable historical segment of our collections. Praiseworthy is the expertise and skill in international relations by which 'administrators' of the time (collection managers) could track down and acquire these items. The first half of the 20th century had researchers of the highest scientific standards working for the Department of Zoology. Just to quote the names of some world-famous researchers: LAJOS ABAFI-AlGNER (butterflies and moths), JENŐ DADAY (microscopic aquatic organisms), GÉZA HORVÁTH (true bugs), KÁLMÁN KERTÉSZ (flies), LAJOS MÉHELY (amphibians, reptiles), LAJOS SOÓS (snails). This is where ENDRE DUDICH worked in the 1920s, who later, as a university professor, raised an excellent generation of scientists, launching domestic fauna research at the same time. A number of ministerial investigations and reports stated how extremely cramped zoological collections were at this time. Zoological collections, working rooms, and laboratories were moved to 13 Baross utca, where they have been stored ever since.