William Penn Life, 1999 (34. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1999-08-01 / 8. szám
Magyar Nyelv, Hungarian Nobel Laureates And other contributors to science and the arts Hungary has given many great sons to the world—statesmen, scientists, scholars, painters, sculptors and musicians. Hungary's history speaks with the weight of imposing achievement. Let us remember now our Hungarian Nobel Prize winners. Three Hungarian professors became Nobel laureates in medicine. The first was Robert Barany who conducted studies of the pathology of the human ear and, for this, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1914. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi received his Nobel in 1937 for his research into the process of biological combustion. He also discovered vitamin-C, finding the substance particularly abundant in Hungarian paprika. The third winner was György von Bekesy, who, while a professor at Harvard University, earned his Nobel in 1961 for studies of the inner ear. Other Hungarian names in medicine include Mihály Somogyi, who developed the "Somogyi test" for the diagnosis of diabetes, and Bela Schick, who introduced the "Schick test" for determining susceptibility to diphtheria. In sciences closely related to medicine, Prof. György Hevesy won a Nobel in chemistry in 1943 for discovering new ways to use isotope tracers. Richard Zsigmondy received his Nobel Prize in 1925 for his pioneering work in colloid chemistry. The very first Hungarian Nobel Prize winner was the physicist Lenard Fulop who was awarded the prize for his pioneering research on cathode rays. Eugene P. Wigner won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1963 for his research into neutron absorption. In One more time, in English.... In last month’s William Penn Life, we had a little fun with the fact that so many of the world’s greatest scientists and mathematicians were Hungarians (see “Are Hungarians from Mars?) This month, “Magyar Nyelv” takes a more serious look at the vast number of Hungarians who have earned recognition for their contributions to our understanding of our world. This English version, while not a direct wordfor-word translation of Barbara Kerékgyártód Hungarian article, will provide our English-only readers an appreciation of the subjects discussed in her article. 1971, another Hungarian, Gabor Denes, received the Nobel in physics for his invention and development of holography, a system for making three-dimensional images. Present-day science and technology owe much to the so-called "Big Six" among Hungarian scholars: John von Neuman, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Todor Karman, Zoltán Bay and the previously-mentioned Eugene Wigner. The accomplishments of most of this group were noted in last month's William Penn Life. However, there are a few additional items we would like to note here. Szilard, Teller and Wigner constituted half of the six-member group that directed the Manhattan Project for making the first atomic bomb. After the bomb was dropped on Japan, all three recognized the need to control the spread of such technology. Szilard in particular campaigned extensively for such controls, which earned him the Atoms for Peace award in 1959. Teller continued to be active in the development of atomic weaponry, and came to be known as the "Father of the Hydrogen Bomb." California was the scene of still more famous achievements by Americans of Hungarian origin who concentrated their pioneering efforts in a single city: Hollywood. It can be said that the birth of the American film industry was made possible through the efforts of such Hungarian film pioneers as Adolph Zukor and William Fox. It was Zukor who produced the first American-made full-length feature film, "The Prisoner of Zenda." He went on to produce many other films through the studio he founded, Paramount Pictures. Fox, born in the Hungarian village of Tolcsva, brought the products of Hollywood close to the people through the Fox theater chain. The fame of these men has been matched, in a different but related field, by Joseph Pulitzer. Born in Mako, Hungary, he would eventually settle in St. Louis where he worked as a reporter with a Germanlanguage newspaper. Years later he took over the ailing St. Louis Post- Dispatch and developed it into a flourishing publication. He moved to New York where he bought the New York World. When he died in 1911, he left a donation of $2 million to Columbia University to establish a graduate school of journalism. He also inaugurated an award given annually to American writers, artists and journalists. Young Hungarian Americans, please do not renounce such a great and glorious heritage. Respect it. Carru it in all its sloru. And keep it alive. |m] 24 William Penn lile, August 1999
