(1853 – 1942)

Engineer, ‘AC electronics pioneer’.

Founder of heavy-current electrical engineering. In 1878, András Mechwart (managing director of the Ganz factory) entrusted him with organizing their electricity department, i.e. to develop the power industry in Hungary. Under his leadership, the Ganz factory soon became the pioneer in AC electronics. In 1883, the National Theatre of Budapest was fitted with lights by Ganz: this was the first alternating current, incandescent lighting system in Hungary. One of their AC generators, the ‘giant steam lighting machine’ illuminated the Keleti Railway Station for 30 years.

Invented: transformer and the AC energy distribution system (with Miksa Déri and Ottó Bláthy, 1889).

Credited with: economical transmission and distribution of light to long distances.