Lajos Kossuth
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (pronounced [ˈlɒjoʃ ˈkoʃut], Hungarian: udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, Slovak: Ľudovít Košút, English: Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the revolution of 1848–1849.
Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva | |
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Daguerreotype portrait by Southworth & Hawes, May 1852 | |
| Governor-President of Hungary | |
| In office 14 April 1849 – 11 August 1849 | |
| Prime Minister | Bertalan Szemere |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Artúr Görgey (as acting civil and military authority) |
| 2nd Prime Minister of Hungary President of the Committee of National Defence | |
| In office 2 October 1848 – 1 May 1849 | |
| Preceded by | Lajos Batthyány (Prime Minister) |
| Succeeded by | Bertalan Szemere (Prime Minister) |
| Minister of Finance of Hungary | |
| In office 7 April 1848 – 12 September 1848 | |
| Prime Minister | Lajos Batthyány |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Lajos Batthyány |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva 19 September 1802 Monok, Kingdom of Hungary, Habsburg monarchy |
| Died | 20 March 1894 (aged 91) Turin, Kingdom of Italy |
| Resting place | Kerepesi Cemetery |
| Political party | Opposition Party (1847–1848) |
| Spouse | Terézia Meszlényi |
| Children | Ferenc Lajos Ákos Vilma Lajos Tódor Károly |
| Relatives | Juraj Košút (uncle) |
| Signature | |
With the help of his talent in oratory in political debates and public speeches, Kossuth emerged from a poor gentry family into regent-president of the Kingdom of Hungary. As the influential contemporary American journalist Horace Greeley said of Kossuth: "Among the orators, patriots, statesmen, exiles, he has, living or dead, no superior."
Kossuth's powerful English and American speeches so impressed and touched the famous contemporary American orator Daniel Webster, that he wrote a book about Kossuth's life. He was widely honoured during his lifetime, including in Great Britain and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe. Kossuth's bronze bust can be found in the United States Capitol with the inscription: Father of Hungarian Democracy, Hungarian Statesman, Freedom Fighter, 1848–1849.