Ferenc Toldy (born Franz Karl Joseph Schedel, August 10, 1805, in

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

- December 10, 1875, in

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 ...

) was a

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

from the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and later

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

Biography

As a small boy, he lived with his parents, Franz Schedel and Josepha Thalherr, in Buda. He was sent to school in

Cegléd Cegléd (; ) is a city in Pest County, Pest county, Hungary, approximately southeast of the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Name The name of the town is of disputed origin. The name may be derived from the word "szeglet" (meaning "corner") due to i ...

. He studied medicine and practised as a doctor in Pest, but his interest in literature absorbed his attention, and he published a handbook on Hungarian poetry in 1828. He travelled to Berlin, London, and Paris, returning in 1830. From 1833 to 1844 he was a professor of dietetics at Pest University, and in 1836 helped found the

Kisfaludy Society The Kisfaludy Society (Hungarian: ''Kisfaludy Társaság'') was a literary society in Pest, founded in 1836 and named after Károly Kisfaludy, who had died in 1830. It held monthly meetings and was a major force in Hungarian literary life, giving ...

. He changed his name to Toldy in 1846. He had used it as a pseudonym from the beginning of his career. He had already joined the Hungarian Academy, becoming its Secretary in 1835. He remained in this role until 1861 when he was appointed Professor of Hungarian Literature. His lastingly influential works were published in the 1850s and 1860s.

External links

* ''Handbuch der ungrischen Poësie.'' Pest, 1828
Google Books

Toldy Ferenc Gimnázium
—high school in Budapest named after him
Ceglédi Toldy Ferenc Kórház Honlapja
��hospital in Cegléd {{DEFAULTSORT:Toldy Ferenc Literary critics Literary historians Scholars from the Austrian Empire Scholars from Austria-Hungary People from Buda 1805 births 1875 deaths