List of Hungarians

This is a list of Hungarians notable within Hungary and/or abroad. It includes notable Hungarians born outside present-day Hungary.

Artists

Business professionals

Lea Gottlieb, Israeli fashion designer and founder of Gottex
Andrew Grove, pioneer in the semiconductor industry; a chairman and CEO of Intel
Éva Hegedüs, Chairman-CEO and majority shareholder of Gránit Bank
Radovan Jelašić, governor of the National Bank of Serbia
Sándor Kenyeres, international business magnate, and scientific philanthropist
Peter Munk, Canadian-Hungarian entrepreneur, founder of Barrick Gold, and philanthropist
Tibor Rosenbaum, businessman
George Soros, Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philosopher and philanthropist

Composers and performers

Bálint Bakfark, composer
Kristóf Baráti, violinist
Béla Bartók, composer and pianist
János Bihari, violinist
Gergely Bogányi, pianist
Attila Csihar, vocalist
György Cziffra, pianist and composer
Ernő Dohnányi, composer, pianist and conductor
Antal Doráti, conductor
Péter Eötvös, composer and conductor
Ferenc Erkel, composer
László Fassang, organist and pianist
Iván Fischer, conductor and composer
Peter Frankl, pianist
Endre Granat, violinist
Zoltán Jeney, composer
Joseph Joachim, violinist
Pál Kadosa, composer
Zoltán Kocsis, pianist and conductor
Zoltán Kodály, composer
Rezső Kókai, composer
György Kurtág, composer
Franz Lehár, composer
György Ligeti, composer
Franz Liszt, composer and pianist
Éva Marton, soprano
Ilona Náday, singer
János Négyesy, violinist
Ervin Nyiregyházi, pianist
Eugene Ormandy, conductor
Veronika Harcsa, vocalist
György Pauk, violinist
László Polgár, bass
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Eduard Reményi, violinist
Rezső Seress, composer and pianist
Georg Solti, conductor
Gábor Szabó, guitarist
Georg Szell, conductor
Júlia Várady, soprano
Ibolya Verebics, soprano
László Vidovszky, composer
Andras Schiff, pianist
James Nemeti Stamp Aston Martin Gold Technician

See more in List of Hungarian composers.

Film artists

History and politics

Viktor Orbán, current Prime Minister of Hungary
László Almásy, desert explorer, author, the inspiration for the fictionalised character of Almásy in Michael Ondaatje's 1992 novel The English Patient
Gyula Andrássy, statesman
József Antall, Prime Minister of Hungary
Albert Apponyi, statesman
Gordon Bajnai, former Prime Minister of Hungary
Tamás Bakócz, archbishop, cardinal and statesman
Gábor Baross, statesman
Erzsébet Báthory, countess
*István Báthory, Governor of Transylvania
*István (Stephen) Báthory, Prince of Transylvania and King of Poland
Zsigmond Báthory, Prince of Transylvania
Vilma Beck, writer and freedom fighter
Ödön Beöthy, Hungarian deputy and orator
Béla Bugár, politician
Krisztina Csáky was a Hungarian countess, resistance fighter
Pál Csáky, politician
Aurél Dessewffy, journalist and politician
Péter Doszpot, former member of parliament
Ignaz Aurelius Fessler, court councillor and minister to Alexander I of Russia
Catharina Anna Grandon de Hochepied, noble and amateur actress
András Hadik, Count
Theodor Herzl, journalist, modern Zionism
Miklós Horthy, admiral and regent
Stephen I of Hungary first King of Hungary
Friar Julian
János Kádár, communist leader
Charles I of Hungary, King of Hungary
Mihály Károlyi, first President of Hungary
Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian politician later Regent-President of Hungary
Teddy Kollek, Israeli Mayor of Jerusalem
Béla Kun, minister, revolutionist
Louis I of Hungary, king of Hungary
Tom Lantos, former U.S. Congressman from California
Géza Malasits, deputy in parliament
József Mindszenty, cardinal, imprisoned by communist government
Imre Nagy, prime minister in 1953 and 1956
Ágnes Osztolykán, Hungarian politician and Romani activist
Mátyás Rákosi, communist leader
George Soros, stock investor, philanthropist, and political activist
Ferenc Szálasi, head of Arrow Cross Party, Head of State, Prime Minister of Hungary
László Szalay, statesman and historian
Count Széchenyi István
Istvan Tisza, Prime Minister of Hungary
Toma András, Hungarian World War II prisoner found in Russian mental hospital and returned after 55 years
László Tőkés, Reformed Church pastor and an instigator of the Romanian Revolution of 1989
Countess Anna Wesselényi, countess and writer
Count Zrínyi Miklós, Hungarian general who held Szigetvár against the Ottoman Turks
Count Zrínyi Miklós, Hungarian general, statesman and poet
János Zsámboky, humanist

Inventors

Ferenc Anisits, inventor of the BMW diesel engine
Oszkár Asbóth, inventor of helicopter
Donát Bánki, inventor of the cross-flow turbine
Béla Barényi, inventor in field of automobile safety
László Bíró, inventor of the ballpoint pen
Ottó Bláthy, inventor of the voltage regulator, co-inventor of the transformer
János Csonka, inventor of the carburetor
Miksa Déri, co-inventor of the transformer
Dénes Gábor, inventor of holography
József Galamb, creator of the Ford Model T
Csaba Horváth, inventor of high-performance liquid chromatography
János Irinyi, inventor of noiseless match
Ányos Jedlik, co-inventor of dynamo and soda water
Rudolf E. Kálmán, co-inventor of the Kalman filter
Kálmán Kandó, pioneer in the development of railway electric traction
Dénes Mihály, inventor of television technology
Joseph Petzval, mathematician, inventor, and physicist.
Tivadar Puskás, inventor of the telephone exchange
Ernő Rubik, inventor of the Rubik's Cube
Kálmán Tihanyi, inventor of cathode-ray tubes, inventor of the first manless aircraft in Great Britain
Károly Zipernowsky, co-inventor of the transformer

Scientists

Antal K. Bejczy was a Hungarian scientist and a national of the United States known for his contributions to robotics.
Avram Hershko, Hungarian-born Israeli biochemist and Nobel laureate in Chemistry
András Arató, electrical engineer known for the Hide the Pain Harold meme
Erzsébet Bajári
György Bálint, Hungarian horticulturist, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, journalist, author, and politician who served as an MP.
Robert Bárány
Zoltán Bay
George von Békésy Nobel Prize
Gergely Berzeviczy
Farkas Bolyai
János Bolyai
Imre Bródy
George de Hevesy
Loránd Eötvös
Paul Erdős
Madeleine Barnothy Forro
Dennis Gabor
Zoltan Hajos
Máté Hidvégi
Johann Baptiste Horvath
Vilma Hugonnai
János Kornai
Géza Krepuska, ear, nose, and throat specialist
Cornelius Lanczos
George Andrew Olah
Rózsa Péter
Thomas Sebeok
Pál Selényi
Ignaz Semmelweis, physician and pioneer of antiseptic procedures
Charles Simonyi
Michael Somogyi
Victor Szebehely
Kinga Székely
Albert Szent-Györgyi, discovered vitamin C
Leó Szilárd
Éva Tauszk
Valentine Telegdi
Mária Telkes
Edward Teller
Imre Trencsényi-Waldapfel
Franz Nopcsa von Felso-Szilvas
Georg von Békésy
Theodore von Kármán
John von Neumann
József Szabó de Szentmiklós
Eugene Wigner
Richard Adolf Zsigmondy

Sports

Robert Antal, Olympic champion water polo player
Péter Bakonyi, saber fencer, twice Olympic bronze
Gedeon Barcza, chess player
Viktor Barna, 22-time world champion table tennis player, International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame
István Barta, water polo goalkeeper, Olympic champion at the 1932 Summer Olympics, silver at the 1928 Summer Olympics
Zsolt Baumgartner, Formula One racecar driver, Jordan-Ford, Minardi-Cosworth, all 18 Grand Prix, 1 point
Laszlo Bellak, seven-time world champion table tennis player, ITTFHoF
Tibor Benedek, water polo player, Olympic champion: 2000 Summer Olympics, 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics
Pál Benkő, chess player
Gyula Bíró, midfield and forward footballer
László Bita, footballer
Balázs Borbély, footballer
József Braun, Olympic footballer
Gyula Breyer, chess player
György Bródy, water polo goalkeeper, two-time Olympic champion
Ákos Buzsáky, football player
Ibolya Csák, winner of women's high jump at the 1936 Summer Olympics
Zoltán Czibor, soccer player
Tamás Darnyi, swimmer
Krisztina Egerszegi, swimmer
Ilona Elek, foil fencer
Árpád Élő,, Hungarian-born American creator of the chess Elo rating system
Zsolt Erdei, boxer, WBO light heavyweight world champion
Sándor Erdős, épée fencer, Olympic champion
Dr. Dezső Földes, saber fencer, two-time Olympic champion
Samu Fóti, Olympic silver
Dr. Jenő Fuchs, saber fencer, four-time Olympic champion
Tamás Gábor, épée fencer, Olympic champion
János Garay, saber fencer, Olympic champion, silver, bronze, killed in the Holocaust
György Gedó, Olympic champion light flyweight boxer
Sándor Gellér, soccer goalkeeper, Olympic champion
Imre Gellért, Olympic silver-medal winner
Zoltán Gera, soccer player; has played for Ferencváros, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham
Dr. Oskar Gerde, saber fencer, two-time Olympic champion, killed in the Holocaust
Aladár Gerevich, fencer, seven Olympic gold medals
Charlie Gogolak, American football number-one draft pick of the Washington Redskins
Péter Gogolak, American football; invented "soccer style" kicking; played for the New York Giants and the Buffalo Bills
Dr. Sándor Gombos, saber fencer, Olympic champion
Gyula Grosics, goalkeeper for Golden Magyar soccer team undefeated from 1950 to 1954
Béla Guttmann, midfielder, national team football player, international coach; forced laborer in the Holocaust
Andrea Gyarmati, Olympic swimmer silver and bronze ; world championships bronze, International Swimming Hall of Fame
Dezső Gyarmati, water polo player
Alfréd Hajós, swimmer three-time Olympic champion, International Swimming Hall of Fame
Olivér Halassy, swimmer and water polo player
Mickey Hargitay, bodybuilder and actor
Nándor Hidegkuti, soccer player
Endre Kabos, saber fencer, three-time Olympic champion, bronze; killed while a forced laborer in the Holocaust
Janos Kajdi, Hungarian-born boxer who competed at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympics in the lightweight, light-welterweight and welterweight divisions, he won a Silver medal in 1972.
Garry Kallos, Hungarian-born Canadian wrestler and sambo competitor
Béla Károlyi, premier gymnastics coach
Károly Kárpáti, Olympic champion wrestler, silver
Ágnes Keleti, five-time Olympic gymnastics champion
Adolf Kertész, footballer
Gyula Kertész, footballer
Vilmos Kertész, footballer
Kincsem, most successful racehorse in world history
Sándor Kocsis, soccer player
Zsuzsa Körmöczy, tennis player, world #2, won 1958 French Open Singles
István "Koko" Kovács, boxer, Olympic champion and WBO world champion
Pál Kovács, fencer, six Olympic gold medals
Lily Kronberger, four-time world figure skating champion, two-time bronze, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
Péter Lékó, chess player
Imi Lichtenfeld, boxer and wrestler, developed the self-defense system Krav Maga
Andor Lilienthal, chess player
Johann Löwenthal, chess player
Zoltán Magyar, twice Olympic pommel horse gold medalist
Gyula Mándi, half back Olympic footballer
Géza Maróczy, chess player
Opika von Méray Horváth, three-time world figure-skating champion
József Munk, Olympic silver swimmer
Nickolas Muray, Hungarian-born American photographer and Olympic fencer
Les Murray, Australian soccer broadcaster, sports journalist and analyst
Henrik Nádler, international footballer
Henrietta Ónodi, Olympic medal-winning gymnast
Árpád Orbán, Olympic champion footballer
László Papp, boxer
Attila Petschauer, sabre fencer, two-time team Olympic champion, silver; killed in the Holocaust
Anna Pfeffer, Olympic medalist sprint canoeist
Judit Polgár, chess player
Zsófia Polgár, chess player
Zsuzsa Polgár, chess player
Imre Polyák, Olympic and World Champion Greco-Roman wrestler
Lajos Portisch, chess player
Ferenc Puskás, football player
Béla Rajki-Reich, swimming coach and water polo coach
Emília Rotter, pair skater, World Championship four-time gold, silver, Olympic two-times bronze
Miklós Sárkány, two-time Olympic champion water polo player
Zoltán Ozoray Schenker, saber fencer, Olympic champion
Gusztáv Sebes, Hungarian national soccer coach
Anna Sipos, 11-time world champion table tennis player, ITTFHoF
László Szabados, Olympic bronze swimmer
Miklós Szabados, 15-times world champion table tennis player
László Szabó, chess player
Ágnes Szávay, tennis player
András Székely, Olympic silver swimmer and bronze
Éva Székely, Olympic champion and silver swimmer ; International Swimming Hall of Fame; mother of Andrea Gyarmati
László Szollás, pair skater, World Championship four-time gold, silver, Olympic two-times bronze
Gábor Talmácsi, 125 cc MotoGP World Champion
Imre Taussig, Hungarian footballer
Judit Temes, Olympic champion swimmer, bronze
Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, foil fencer, two-time Olympic champion, world champion
Antal Vágó, footballer
Márton Vas, ice hockey player
Árpád Weisz, Olympic football player and manager
Richárd Weisz, Olympic champion wrestler
Lajos Werkner, sabre fencer, two-time Olympic champion
George Worth, born György Woittitz, American Olympic saber fencer
Imre Zachár, Olympic silver swimmer
Dominik Szoboszlai, Hungarian professional footballer
Áron Szilágyi, sabre fencer, three-time Olympic and World champion

Writers

List of Hungarians who were born outside present-day Hungary

The borders of Hungary have changed substantially in the past century. Many places once part of Hungary now belong to neighboring countries. The list is organised by country of birth and those listed have the name of their birthplace as it is currently named.

[Austria]

[Burgenland]

Robert Bárány – otologist
Pál Kitaibel – chemist and botanist
Ferenc Liszt – composer

[Czechoslovakia]

Koloman Gögh – football player

[Romania]

Endre Ady – poet
Mariska Ady – poet
János Apáczai Csere – educator
Lajos Áprily – poet
János Arany – poet
Albert-László Barabási – physicist
Béla Bartók – composer
István Báthory – captain and governor
Elek Benedek – collector of folk tales
Gábor Bethlen – captain and governor
István Bocskai – captain and governor
Farkas Bolyai – mathematician
János Bolyai – mathematician
Ilona Borsai – musicologist, folk music historian, academic
Matthias Corvinus – perhaps the most famous King of Hungary
György Dózsa – leader of a peasant revolt
Jenő Dsida – poet
André François – painter and graphic artist
Margit Kaffka – poet and novelist
Sándor Kányádi – poet
Ferenc Kazinczy – poet and language reformer
Károly Kós – architect
Ferenc Kölcsey – poet; author of the national anthem
Sándor Kőrösi Csoma – orientologist
Béla Kun – politician
György Kurtág – composer
György Ligeti – composer
Bela Lugosi – actor
Kelemen Mikes – writer
Balázs Orbán – writer, historian and politician
Péter Pázmány – theologian and writer
Sándor Reményik – poet
András Sütő – writer
Áron Tamási – writer
Sámuel Teleki – Africa researcher
László Tőkés – bishop and politician
Árpád Tóth – poet
Sándor Veress – pianist and composer
Albert Wass – writer and poet
Miklós Wesselényi – politician, academician and writer
Emília Zathureczky – museologist, collector

[Serbia]

Géza Csáth – writer
Dezső Kosztolányi – poet and writer
Péter Lékó – chess grandmaster
Monica Seles – tennis player
John Simon – author; literary, theater and film critic

[Slovakia]

Gyula Andrássy – politician
Gyula Andrássy the Younger – politician
Bálint Balassi – poet
Ernő Dohnányi – conductor, composer and pianist
Abraham Hochmuth – rabbi
László Hudec – architect
Mór Jókai – writer
Lajos Kassák – poet, painter, typographer and graphic artist
Imre Madách – poet
Sándor Márai – writer
Kálmán Mikszáth – writer
Szilárd Németh – football player
Ferenc II Rákóczi – prince and leader of Hungarian uprising in 1703–11
János Selye – psychologist and researcher
Alice Széchenyi – heiress
Mihály Tompa – poet

[Ukraine]

Transcarpathia">Carpathian Ruthenia">Transcarpathia

Mihály Munkácsy – painter
Moshe Leib Rabinovich – rabbi and scholar