Ágoston Trefort | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of Religion and Education of Hungary | |
| In office 4 September 1872 – 22 August 1888 | |
| Preceded by | Tivadar Pauler |
| Succeeded by | Gábor Baross |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1817-02-07)7 February 1817 |
| Died | 22 August 1888(1888-08-22) (aged 71) |
| Political party | Opposition Party Deák Party Liberal Party |
| Spouse | Ilona Alojzia Erzsébet Rosty de Barkócz |
| Children | Edit Ervin Mária |
| Profession | politician,jurist |
Dr. Ágoston Trefort (pronunciation: ['a:gɔʃtɔn 'trɛfɔrt]; 7 February 1817 – 22 August 1888) was a Hungarian politician, who served asMinister of Religion and Education from 1872 until his death. He was thePresident of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1885.
He was born into aHungarian Catholic family ofWalloon origin inHomonna,Zemplén County,Kingdom of Hungary (todayHumenné,Slovakia). His great-grandfather worked as a lawyer inBelgium, hismedical officer grandfather came to Hungary in the 1770s. Ágoston's father was Ignác Trefort (1770–1831), a famous surgeon, and his mother was Tekla Beldovics (died 1829). They married in 1816, when Ignác's first wife died. They had three children: Ágoston, Antal (died in hisinfancy) and István (born 1825, year of death unknown).
On 14 March 1847 he married theHungarian noble lady Ilona Rosty de Barkócz (1826–1870), who was the daughter of Albert Rosty de Barkócz (1779–1847), jurist, landowner,vice-ispán of thecounty of Békés (alispán of Békés), and Anna Eckstein de Ehrenbergh (1801–1843), member of the illustrious Hungarian noble familyRosty de Barkócz. His wife was also descendant of the ancient and prestigious medieval Hungarian noblePerneszy family, which died out in the 18th century. They had together three children – two daughter, Edit and Mária and a son, Ervin. Through his marriage he was thebrother in law ofPál Rosty de Barkócz (1830–1874), a photographer,explorer, who visitedTexas,New Mexico, Mexico,Cuba andVenezuela between 1857 and 1859. He was also brother in law of theBaronJózsef Eötvös de Vásárosnamény (1813–1871), a poet, writer, and liberal politician, a cabinet minister, who married Agnes Rosty de Barkócz (1825–1913), his wife's sister.
He already spoke on the time of his grammar school studies in German, inLatin and inSlovak. Trefort lost his parents during thecholera epidemic of 1831. He found his way underCountess Petronella Csáky'sguardianship. He studied on theLyceum of Eger, then he started his higher studies on theFaculty of Law of theUniversity of Pest. He learnt in English, in French and in Italian, thanking for his excellent gift for languages duly. Then he made hisjuridical practice at the district board onEperjes. Trefort finished his studies at the age of eighteen.
He started his first big Western European round trip by favour of the paternal heritage and theCsáky family in April 1836. He returned to Hungary in February 1837. Trefort passed his lawyer's exam with a distinguished result on 22 December 1837. He stood into a state service then, and chamber president GáborKeglevich appointed him a free trainee at theBuda court chamber on 17 April 1838. Trefort became a member of the National Casino, where he made lot of friends and connections. Among others he got acquainted withJózsef Eötvös here.
Trefort's interest turned into the direction of the literature in this time. He suggested to foundation of a Művészeti Egylet onto the nursing of the Hungarian fine arts. This was his first appearance before the publicity, and the work society, for which he was the first president, was the result of this. Thecentralist group formed in these times, notable members were Eötvös, Trefort and historian László Szalay. Trefort became a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences at the age of twenty-four. He participated in the works of the Industry Society and the Hungarian Trading Company. He was member of theNational Assembly of Hungary of 1833/1844 as a delegate ofZólyom. He was selected to a member of a committee, which negotiated about the commercial affairs. He published for thePesti Hírlap about actual political questions (credit bank,inheritance, tax, industrialisation). On 14 March 1847 Trefort married to Ilona Rostly, daughter of vice ispan Albert Rostly, so Trefort became Eötvös' brother-in-law, because Eötvös' wife, Ágnes Rostly was sister of Ilona.
On 16 March 1848 (one day after therevolution broke out) he was appointed to the Vice-regency council's interim press policing department. He received officer rank in the militia ofPest. In the cabinet of Prime MinisterLajos Batthyány he served as state secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Trade. After murder ofFerenc Lamberg he emigrated toVienna, after thatMünchen with his family. They returned to home in September 1850. He lived inBékés County separately, at the end of the 1850s he engaged in the county public affairs. Trefort founded the Békés County Economical Association. He appointed the county's first vice ispan on 11 December 1860, but he resigned from this position on 18 March 1861. In this same year he became a member of the National Assembly of Hungary again.
Trefort supported thecompromise with the Austrians, he was also between the promoters. After death of his wife he moved to Pest. WhenJózsef Eötvös, his closely friend died in 1871, the cabinet offered Eötvös' ministerial position to him. He accepted the function with only second occasion, so Trefort became Minister of Religion and Education in 1872. He also served as Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade between 21 August 1876 and 5 December 1878.
He continued the development of the civil educational system. A ready program was not at his disposal, but he emphasized the importance of the educating the people. He created the ministry's ninth department, which dealt with the building cases. The commercial and industrial educational forms came into the foreground because of the development of the capitalism. The ministry preferred those types of school, which ones not onto human orbits, but foster onto industry, agriculture, trade. Trefort harmonized the public education with the social needs during second half of his ministerial term.
Eötvös and Trefort's multi-faceted politics yielded the birth of the modern Hungarian higher education. Social political transformation being equal to the capitalist economic development roamed together with this, and the pressure of the economic interests. The society set up his claims opposite the higher education in connection with this. It was the turn of new institutions', departments', laboratories' organization, the change of a curriculum, the increase of the vocational standard as a result of all these.
In 1872 the Polytechnikum becameBudapest University of Technology and Economics, and the country'ssecond university opened inKolozsvár. Furthermore, new departments came into existence, the scientific and medical faculty buildings were built, the artistic higher educational institutions organized. He ascribed extraordinary significance to themedical science, the medical training and thepublic health. With the increase of new buildings, new departments' foundation, the increase of the number of the laboratories, their equipment raised the modernisation (generally) of the higher education, particularly the standard of the medical training. The Műegyetem Múzeum's boulevard buildings, The University Library, the Faculty of Medical Science were made ready at this time, and alongÜllői út the buildings of the Clinical Quarter. He multiplied the departments' number in the course of his work made on the space of the question of the education.
He created new educational and exam order, a disciplinary regulation, he standardize the universities' organization. Moreover, he provided the opportunities of the school founding, professors with outstanding knowledge. With regard to the Faculty's of Arts development important result creating the institution of the seminars and the study time from three raising it to four years.
Trefort reformed the teacher-training system in 1873. He united the training of the grammar school and secondary school teachers' training. In the interest of the correction of the standard he organized the teacher examining commission, provided the foreign scholarships. He ordered the regular keeping of the methodological meetings in the schools in the interest of the improvement of the teaching methods. the Act of 1883 took action on the conditions of the teacher qualification and the general requirements of the examinations. Trefort regulated the transition between the civil schools, high schools and the training colleges in his orders. He regulated the commercial schools' organization. Suggested it the industry student schools and central Industry School's erection.
In connection with the national question theMagyarization political sketching characterize him, which is after his death, getting stronger turned into really reactionary. He had attacks many times from the denominations' and the left wing. Trefort was struggling along equally to espouse and to develop all of the areas of his wallet. His triple password: public health, economy, public education. He saw the context of the development of the culture clearly with the necessity of the solution of the economic and social questions. Even his literary function served his cultural policy aims.
In 1841 he becamecorresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Later, in 1867 he was promoted to full member. He was appointed President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1885, followedMenyhért Lónyay in this position. His ministerial occupation limited his academic activity strongly.
A sculpture cherishes his memory at theEötvös Loránd University. There is a street's name after him inJózsefváros. The Trefort Ágoston Bilingual Secondary School preserves his name inKispest. The Trefort Ágoston Award is one of the state acknowledgement which can be donated by the Minister of Education. For those ministerial, municipal and institution employees can be donated, who make work rising through longer time in the interest of the education.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Religion and Education 1872–1888 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade Acting 1876–1878 | Succeeded by |
| Cultural offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences 1885–1888 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
