Géza Kresz de Szemlőhegy (30 August 1846 – 10 April 1901) was a Hungarian physician, founder of the Budapest Voluntary Ambulance Society and the Pest Skating Club.

Early life

Kresz was born in

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 ** ...

to Carl Kresz, a son of a fruiterer from Merseburg, who fled to Hungary to avoid impressment, and a daughter of a bookseller. He was the youngest of the six children of the couple. He studied for physician and earned his medical degree in 1871 in the

University of Pest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

Work

Kresz first worked as a general practitioner and later became a

health officer A medical officer of health, also known as a medical health officer, chief health officer, chief public health officer or district medical officer, is the title commonly used for the senior government official of a health department, usually at a m ...

in the 5th district of Budapest. In 1876 the law for the organization of ambulance institutions was enacted, by that it became the responsibility of the police, thus the central district police stations were operating as the first ambulance stations. However, this system could not cope with the increasing number of tasks in the period of industrialization, and to be able to carry out the rescue missions, Géza Kresz founded the Budapest Voluntary Ambulance Society (Budapesti Önkéntes Mentő Egyesület, BÖME) in 1887, utilizing the model that was used in Vienna since a few years. In the coming years he established the organized ambulance system, actively participated in the elimination of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

and organized the supply of Budapest with

breast milk Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates ( lacto ...

. Budapest Voluntary Ambulance Society plaque Bp05 Szent István1.jpg, Commemorative plaque on the southern railing of

Saint Stephen's Basilica St. Stephen's Basilica ( hu, Szent István-bazilika ) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Budapest, Hungary. It is named in honour of Stephen, the first King of Hungary (c 975–1038), whose right hand is housed in the reliquary. It was the sixth l ...

remembering the 125th anniversary of the founding of BÖME. Bihari János (Sólyom) utca - Markó utca sarok. - Budapest, Fortepan 82483.jpg, The Ambulance Palace in 1900. In 1890 the Ambulance Palace (Mentőpalota) - designed by

Zsigmond Quittner Zsigmond Quittner (born as Sigismund Quittner, 13 February 1859 – 25 October 1918) was a Hungarian architect.ambulance station An ambulance station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of ambulance vehicles and their medical equipment, as well as working and living space for their staff. Ambulance stations have facilities for maintaining ambulance vehicles ...

and it still serves as the headquarters of the National Ambulance. The building process took one and a half years and was financed by the donations of wealthy citizens. In the yard were found the stables with hayloft and the horse-drawn ambulance coaches. Kresz also had his residence in the Ambulance Palace, where he lived with his family on the second floor. The second wing of the building was handed over in the second part of the 1890s. The bedrooms of the residential employees, the storage rooms, and the Ambulance Museum - established by Kresz - were placed here. Kresz collected and systematized the instruments and other memorabilia to create this special museum, which is still unique in Europe. As a devoted fan of ice skating, Kresz played pioneer role in popularizing the sport in Hungary. On his initiation was founded the Pest Skating Club (Pesti Korcsolyázó Egylet) in 1869 and he set up the first skating rink, the City Park Ice Rink, on the frozen lake of the City Park. Ice skating quickly became a beloved sport, which is shown that the number of skating club members grew from 35 to 432 in the first year.

Later life and legacy

During the Millennial Exhibition in 1896, Kresz made an X-ray image of Franz Joseph's right hand. On 1 November 1885 he was awarded with the Order of Franz Joseph (Knight Class). For the founding of the Budapest Voluntary Ambulance Society, he earned the title royal councilor on 3 January 1897. In the 1900s a series of ambulance stations were created in Hungarian cities and villages, for them the example to follow was the Budapest Voluntary Ambulance Society. For his merits he was ennobled by Franz Joseph on 24 December 1900 and was given the name de Szemlőhegy (Szemlőhegyi). In his crest is seen a lion that holds the coat of arms of the National Ambulance, while on the shield are three oak leaves, symbolizing his sons, and three lilies, symbolizing his daughters. He died on 10 April 1901 and was buried in the National Graveyard in Budapest. The Ambulance Museum has been renamed in the honor of Kresz, a street in Budapest bears his name and a plaque remembers him by the Ambulance Palace. The minor planet no. 242523, discovered on 5 January 2005 is named after him. Kresz Géza KreszGézau38.jpg, His memorial plaque in the street named after him. Kresz Géza emléktábla avatás 1.jpg, Endre Liber, deputy-major of Budapest speaks at the inauguration of Géza Kresz's memorial plaque, on 19 October 1935. Kresz Géza emléktábla avatás 2.jpg, Géza Kresz's memorial plaque on the Bihari János street-front of the Ambulance Palace after the inauguration (19 October 1935) Kresz Géza sírja 2011.jpg, Kresz's grave at the Kerepesi Cemetery

Publications

* ''Elmeállapotok megvizsgálása.'' (Államorvos 1879/3.) * ''Miként lehetne Budapest fővárosát jó, egészséges és megbízható tejjel s gyermek-tejjel ellátni?'' (Budapest, 1883) * ''A tuberculosis és annak pusztítása ellen való védekezés, tekintettel hazánk és a főváros közegészségi viszonyaira.'' (Budapest, 1884) * ''Gyakorlati tapasztalatok a berlini közegészségi kiállításon.'' (1884) * ''Miként gátoljuk meg a gümőkór kifejlődését.'' (Államorvos 1884/7.) * ''Első segély rögtöni baleseteknél az orvos megérkezéséig.'' (Budapest, 1884) * ''Adatok a croup, álcroup és a diphtheritis kezeléséhez, fő tekintettel a meleg gőzök ujabb sikeres helyi alkalmazására.'' (Orvosi Hetilap 1885/18.) * ''A mentés és első segély szervezése a fővárosban.'' (Budapest, 1885) * ''A Budapesti Önkéntes Mentő-Egyesület uj központi állomása.'' (Budapest, 1891) * ''A cholera és az ellene való védekezés.'' (Budapest, 1892) * ''A Budapesti Önkéntes Mentő-Egyesület 1887–1893.'' (Budapest, 1894)

References

External links

Géza Kresz Ambulance Museum official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kresz, Geza 1846 births 1901 deaths Hungarian general practitioners Physicians from Austria-Hungary Hungarian people of German descent People from Pest, Hungary