Gergely Csiky (also Gregor Csiky; 8 December 1842 – 19 November 1891) was a Hungarian dramatist of Armenian ancestry (his mother's family is of the Verzár family that was initially called as Stefanian).Gudenus János József: Örmény eredetű magyar nemesi családok genealógiája Erdélyi Örmény Gyökerek, Budapest, 2000 Csiky was born in Pankota, in the county of Arad. He studied Roman Catholic theology at

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and was professor in the Priests College at Timișoara from 1870 to 1878. In the latter year, however, he joined the Evangelical Church, and took up literature. Beginning with novels and works on ecclesiastical history, which met with some recognition, he ultimately devoted himself to writing for the stage. Here his success was immediate. In his ''Az ellenállhatatlan (Irresistible)'', which obtained a prize from the

Hungarian Academy of Sciences The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( hu, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, MTA) is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. Its ma ...

, he showed the distinctive features of his talent: directness, freshness, realistic vigor, and highly individual style. In rapid succession he enriched Magyar literature with realistic genre pictures, such as ''A Proletárok (Proletariat)'', ''Buborékok (Bubbles)'', ''Két szerelem (Two Loves)'', ''A szégyenlős (The Bashful)'', ''Athalia'', etc., in all of which he seized on one or another feature or type of modern life, dramatizing it with intensity, qualified by chaste and well-balanced diction. Of the latter, his classical studies may be taken as the inspiration, and his translation of

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

and

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...

were the most successful of Magyar translations of the ancient classics. Among his novels are ''Arnold'', ''Az Atlasz család (The Atlas Family''). He died in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. The

Csiky Gergely Theatre The Gergely Csiky Theatre is a theatre in Kaposvár, Hungary. Opening in 1911, the theatre became a major cultural center in Somogy County, with its company achieving their greatest successes between 1970–1985. The building Designed by the w ...

Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in the southwestern part of Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvá ...

and the Hungarian Theatre of Timișoara bear his name.

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* * 1842 births 1891 deaths 19th-century Hungarian male writers Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences 19th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights Hungarian male dramatists and playwrights {{hungary-writer-stub