Countess Blanka Teleki de Szék (5 July 1806 – 23 October 1862) was a Hungarian noblewoman, educator and women's rights activist. She is regarded as an early feminist and pioneer in the education of females.Francisca de Haan, Krasimira Daskalova & Anna Loutfi: Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms in Central, Easterna and South Eastern Europe, 19th and 20th centuries Central European University Press, 2006

Life

Blanka Teleki was born on 5 July 1806 in

Satulung Satulung ( Hungarian: ''Kővárhosszúfalu''; German: ''Langendorf'') is a commune in Maramureș County, Romania. Its name, translated in English, means "the long village". It is composed of seven villages: Arieșu de Pădure (''Erdőaranyos''), ...

in what is now Romania to Count Imre Teleki de Szék (1782-1848) and Countess Karoline Brunswick von Korompa (1782-1843). Her family had an estate in

Satu Mare County Satu Mare County (, , ) is a county (Counties of Romania, județ) of Romania, on the border with Hungary and Ukraine. The capital city is Satu Mare. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as ''Szatmár megye'', in German language, Ge ...

near Ukraine.Teleki Blanka
, Sulinet.hu, retrieved 18 July 2015 She was the niece of the education pioneer

Teréz Brunszvik Countess Therese (von) Brunsvik (; July 27, 1775 in Pozsony, Kingdom of Hungary – September 23, 1861 in Pest, Kingdom of Hungary), sometimes referred to in English as Therese, Countess von Brunsvik or Brunswick, was a member of the Hungarian ...

. She studied painting in

München Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and sculpture under

István Ferenczy István Ferenczy (February 24, 1792 – July 4, 1856) was a Hungarian sculptor. Career Ferenczy made a number of exerted attempts to establish a school of sculpture in Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867), Hungary and it was his mission to est ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. After having published her ideas regarding women's education, she founded her own school for girls in Budapest in 1846. In 1848, she and her pupils became the first females in Hungary to sign a petition demanding equal rights for men and women in Hungary, demanding women suffrage and the right for women to attend university. She participated in the

Revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, and was therefore sentenced to imprisonment. In 1851 she was imprisoned with

Klára Leövey Klára Leövey (1821–1897), was a Hungarians, Hungarian pioneer Teacher, educator and women's rights activist. She was the manager of the Teleki Blanka Gymnasium in Budapest from 1846 to 1848 after being recommended by Teréz Karacs. She partici ...

, who was released in 1856. After having served her sentence, she left Hungary for Paris and died there on 23 October 1862.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teleki, Blanka 1806 births 1862 deaths People from Maramureș County Women's rights activists 19th-century feminists

Blanka Blanka (; Japanese: ) also known by his birth name Jimmy, is a character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' fighting game series. He first appeared in ''Street Fighter II'' (1991) as one of eight playable characters, and was subsequently featured in ...

Educators from the Austrian Empire