Count Imre Zichy de Zich et Vásonkeő (; 22 July 1909 – 28 September 1999) was a Hungarian left-handed amateur tennis player, count and inventor. He was related to the Hungarian Asian explorer Jenő Zichy. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he emigrated to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

where he died at the age of 90. He was a member of the

Hungary Davis Cup team The Hungary men's national tennis team represents Hungary in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Hungarian Tennis Association. History First decades in Davis Cup (1924–1967) Hungary competed in its first Davis Cup in 1924 ...

between 1933–34 and was mainly a doubles and mixed doubles player winning several titles during his career. He was also a three-times national doubles champion.

Biography

Count Zichy was born in the family property at

Sárszentmihály Sárszentmihály is a village in Fejér county, 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 northeast, Romani ...

, being the fifth son of Count Raphael

Zichy Zichy is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Mihály Zichy (1827–1906), Hungarian painter and graphic artist * Maria Anna Stubenberg Zichy (1821-1912), composer * Eleonóra Zichy (1867–1945), Hungarian noblewoman * Géza Zichy ( ...

and wife,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Margravine Edina

Pallavicini The House of Pallavicini, also known as Pallavicino and formerly known as Pelavicino, is an ancient Italian noble family founded by Oberto II ''Pelavicino'' of the Frankish Obertenghi family. The Pallavicini of Genoa The first recorded member o ...

, and lived in

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 northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

until 1943, when he moved to Madrid and stay there for the rest of his life. On 29 August 1947, he married in

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

divorcée Edith Marie Ledeboer, formerly Mrs. Oswald, and had a single child: *Count Imre Helmich Paul Zichy (b. 28 June 1952), who married on 2 April 1979 María Teresa Sánchez-Arjona y Eyaralar, daughter of Manuel Sánchez-Arjona y Courtoy and María Teresa Eyaralar y Azcona and had five children: **Countess Edina Melanie Maria (b. 14 January 1980), married on 30 April 2010 Jose Márquez y Gonzalez de Gregorio, eldest son of Rafael Márquez, 9th Count of las Torres de Alcorrín and former wife Pilar González de Gregorio, 13th Duchess of Fernandina **Countess Stephanie Charlotte Maria (b. 27 September 1983), married Álvaro Rosillo Echevarría, son of the late Francisco de Borja Rosillo y Colón de Carvajal and Virgina de Echevarría y Wakonigg. **Count Imre Enrique Ignacio (b. 18 August 1987) **Count Nándor Károly (b. 8 August 1989) **Countess Teresa Manuela (b. 7 Juni 1992) In 1957 he invented the reversing light for cars and its operating system. Imre Zichy died on 28 September 1999 in Madrid. His funeral was held at the

San Agustín del Guadalix San Agustín del Guadalix is a Spanish town located north of the Comunidad de Madrid, near to Sierra de Guadarrama. It is bordered by Pedrezuela to the north, the municipalities of El Molar and Algete to the east and Colmenar Viejo to the sout ...

Church on 26 October 1999.

Tennis career

Count Zichy started his tennis career by competing in the Hungarian Junior Championships where he was a runner-up for the doubles and third in singles in 1929. Later he won the Hungarian National Tennis Championships in doubles (1931, '32, '34) and in mixed doubles (1931). He also won the Hungarian International Tennis Championships in doubles in 1931 and 1932. He kept playing tennis in Spain.

Doubles

Titles

Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Titles

Runner-up

Davis Cup

Friendly/Exhibition matches

Ancestry

Bibliography

*Béla von Kehrling, ed. (1931). ''Tennisz és Golf.'' III (Budapest, Hungary: Egyesült Kő-, Könyvnyomda. Könyv- és Lapkiadó Rt.) 1–24 (in Hungarian). Retrieved 10 February 2012.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zichy, Imre 1909 births 1999 deaths

Imre Imre is a Hungarian masculine first name, which is also in Estonian use, where the corresponding name day is 10 April. It has been suggested that it relates to the name Emeric, Emmerich or Heinrich. Its English equivalents are Emery and Henry ...

Hungarian male tennis players Sportspeople from Fejér County People from Madrid Hungarian expatriate sportspeople in Spain 20th-century Hungarian inventors