Remember Lajos Fekete. This plaque honors a man of immense intellect and dedication. He was a Hungarian historian and specialist in Turkish-Persian paleography.
Fekete’s journey began in Tardos. He was born on June 12, 1891. His life took an unexpected turn during World War I. Drafted into service he became a prisoner of war in Krasnoyarsk Siberia. It was here amidst hardship that he discovered his passion for Turkish language. Fellow prisoners taught him.
After his release in 1921 Fekete pursued Ottoman-Turkish philology. He studied in Budapest Vienna and Berlin. His studies expanded to Arabic and Persian. He specialized in Ottoman-Persian paleography and diplomacy.
From 1923 to 1948 Fekete worked at the Hungarian National Archives. He meticulously collected documents related to the Turkish occupation of Hungary. His reports on these primary sources appeared in Archival Communications. In 1929 he became a private docent at the Péter Pázmány University in Budapest.
His academic career flourished. In 1948 he became an instructor at the University of Budapest. He taught in the Department of Turkish Philology. By 1952 he was a full professor. Fekete’s expertise earned him recognition. He became a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1937. In 1961 he became a regular member. The Polish Academy of Sciences honored him as an honorary member in 1966.
Lajos Fekete was a master of Ottoman history. He was an authority in Ottoman-Persian paleography and diplomacy. His major publications showcased documents in various Arabic scripts. He even deciphered the difficult Siāqat script.
His book Introduction to Persian Paleography stands out. Georg Hazai published it posthumously in 1977. The book contains 101 Persian documents and letters. These date from 1396 to 1702. The original Arabic script appears with German translations. Experts like Bozorg Alavi and Manfred Lorenz contributed.
Fekete’s contribution to Turkish linguistics is valuable. He studied loan elements in Hungarian from the Turkish occupation era. Lajos Fekete was a respected member of Hungary’s academic community. He received the Kossuth Prize in 1956. He also received the Order of Labor in 1961 and 1967.
He dedicated himself to his students. He understood that deciphering difficult texts required skill knowledge and tireless effort. He shared his research through continued engagement. Fekete worked tirelessly often 14 to 15 hours each day. His classes ended only when the janitor turned off the lights. He died in Budapest on May 16 1969. His legacy lives on. A school in his native town of Tardos is named after him. This plaque commemorates Lajos Fekete. He was a scholar a teacher and a dedicated researcher.