Magyar Posta is marking the centenary of the birth of four remarkable Hungarians with a new stamp issue. The miniature sheet and the accompanying envelope and postmark were designed by graphic artist László Dudás.
István Örkény (1912–1979) Kossuth Prize holding writer, chemist, the co-editor of Újhold (New Moon); recognised in world literature as the father of Hungarian grotesque prose. He graduated as a pharmacist and then as a chemical engineer. After the war he mainly worked as a dramaturge and a writer. His One Minute Stories, which created a new style, were first pub- lished in 1967. His extraordinarily brief, compact, philosophical and grotesque writing style was not only a novelty in Hungary but in world literature too. His drama titled The Tóts was staged in 1967 and subsequently translated into many languages. It was this work that brought him worldwide acclaim. György Solti (1912–1997) conductor, pianist. After his studies at the Music Academy he was a musical coach for the Budapest Opera House. In 1942 he won the first prize of the Geneva pianist compe- tition, and through this made his name. After World War II he became the chief musical director for the Bavarian State Opera and then for the Frankfurt Opera, and he was later employed by the London Royal Opera House. He managed the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Berlin and later London symphony orchestras. He is regarded as an outstanding record conductor; he won 31 Grammy awards, was granted the title of honorary doctor by several European and American universities, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Géza Ottlik (1912–1990) writer, literary translator. During the war he was recruited as an air raid warden, and he saved many persecuted people. At the end of the war he set out the reju- venation of Hungarian intellectual life following the traditions of the literary periodical Nyugat (West). Until 1946 he worked for Hungarian Radio as a dramaturge. He had radio lectures titled 25 Years of Hungarian Literature, translated radio dramas and wrote. From 1945 to 1957 he was the secretary for the Magyar PEN Club. During the prevailing years of dogmatic literary policy in the Rákosi era he was sidelined in the Hungarian literary scene and supported himself by translating. His enforced silence came to an end in 1957, when his novella Rooftops at Dawn was published. He won the József Attila Prize, the Kos- suth Prize, the Szép Ernő Prize and the Örley Prize. János Szentágothai (b. Schimert, 1912–1994) Kossuth Prize holder, Hungarian anatomist. At the beginning of his teaching career he elaborated new techniques related to research on degenera- tion. In 1948 and in 1967 he was appointed correspondent and full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, respec- tively. In 1961 electron-microscopic brain research was first conducted at his department. His most well known scientific work is a textbook illustrated by him titled Atlas of Human Anatomy, which has been translated into 13 languages. He was granted a mandate upon the parliamentary election of 1990 and worked as a member of the committee for foreign affairs. He died just a couple of months after his appointment ended. (Source: wikipedia.org)
