The cult of the historiographer

Kálmán Thaly was an emblematic and prominent character of the second half of the 19th century. He spent most of his life in Bratislava and Budapest. He was a founding member of the Hungarian Historical Society and a historical journal called Századok [Centuries]. He looked upon the history of Rákóczi's War of Independence with great interest already from the 1860s. His devotion is illustrated by the birth of more than fifty works in the subject.

The politician, historian, poet, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was one of the representatives of Debrecen at the Parliament and for 27 years, from 1881 till his death. The city welcomed him as its honorary citizen in 1903.

“I am so delighted, for what I dreamt of as a young man, what I worked for as a man, God allowed me, his old servant to grow into.” – stated Kálmán Thaly about himself.