Baron Henrik Lévay de Kistelek ( hu, kisteleki báró Lévay Henrik;

Jánoshalma Jánoshalma () is a town in Bács-Kiskun county in southern Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the n ...

, 16 April 1826 – Budapest, 15 December 1901) was a Hungarian businessman. By establishing the First Hungarian General Insurance Company () in 1857, he introduced the insurance industry in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

(then part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

Early life

The second son of József Lévay (d. 1862) and Mária Herczel (d. 1858), Henrik was born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

in the southern part of the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. He took part in the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 or fully Hungarian Civic Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. Although t ...

, and fought as a lieutenant in the revolutionary Hungarian Defence Forces. After the fall of the revolution, he was employed by the Riunione Adriatice insurance company. He married Róza Sárkány on 5th September 1852.

Businessman

Lévay established the First Hungarian General Insurance Company, founding the insurance industry in Hungary in 1857. King Franz Joseph I () awarded him with

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

on 25 August 1868. As many other ennobled Jews, he converted to Christianity. He was made a baron on 22 April 1897. He died childless in Budapest on 15 December 1901. Five days later he was buried in Táplány (now in Töltéstava).

References

Sources

* * {{Refend 1826 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Hungarian Jews 20th-century Hungarian Jews Hungarian bankers Hungarian economists Jewish economists Members of the House of Magnates Barons of Hungary