Jenő Zsigmondy (4 July 1888 – 30 July 1930), also known as Jenő von Zsigmondy (; hu, Zsigmondy Jenő, french: link=no, Eugène de Zsigmondy, 4 July 1889 – 30 July 1930) was a Hungarian tennis player who was one of Hungary's top players in the early 20th century. The
national champion in 1907, 1910 and 1911, he competed for Hungary at the
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...
in London and the
1912 Summer Olympics
The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...
in Stockholm.
He was a member of
Budapesti Lawn Tennis Club.
[ ]
Early life and family
Jenő Zsigmondy was born in 1889, son of lawyer and
Aulic Councillor Jenő Zsigmondy sr. a member of the famous Zsigmondy family and Matild Bartolovics. He had a sister Viola and a brother Dezső. His
first cousin twice removed was dentist
Adolf Zsigmondy
Dr. Adolf Zsigmondy, aka Adolph Zsigmondy (24 April 1816 in Pozsony (german: Pressburg), Kingdom of Hungary – 23 June 1880 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary) was a dentist of Hungarian origin who lived in Vienna. He is best known for inventing the ide ...
inventor of the
Zsigmondy cross. His
first cousin once removed, Adolf's son was
Richard Adolf Zsigmondy a recipient of the
Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1926. His second first cousin once removed, Richard's brother
Emil Zsigmondy
Emil Zsigmondy (11 August 1861 – 6 August 1885) was an Austrian physician and mountaineer.
Life
Zsigmondy's parents were Hungarians: Adolf Zsigmondy, born in Pozsony, and Irma von Szakmáry, born in Martonvásár. Zsigmondy was an excellent ...
was a mountaineer and
eponym of the
Zsigmondyspitze an Austrian mountain peak. His third first cousin once removed
Karl Zsigmondy was the discoverer of the
Zsigmondy's theorem in mathematics.
His grandfather Pál was the one who established the first tennis court in Budapest capital of Hungary and brought croquet and tennis equipment from England.
His father was also a member of the
Hungarian Parliament between 1927 and 1932.
Tennis career
In 1907 he won the
Hungarian Tennis Championships
The Hungarian Tennis Championships (in Hungarian:''Nemzeti Teniszbajnokság'', ''Magyar Országos Teniszbajnokság'' or abbreviated to ''tenisz ob'') also known as the Hungarian National Championships or the Hungarian Closed Championships is a p ...
singles trophy for the first time.
In 1909 he won the
Hungarian Tennis Championships
The Hungarian Tennis Championships (in Hungarian:''Nemzeti Teniszbajnokság'', ''Magyar Országos Teniszbajnokság'' or abbreviated to ''tenisz ob'') also known as the Hungarian National Championships or the Hungarian Closed Championships is a p ...
mixed doubles contest partnering Katalin Cséry, an achievement they repeated five more times afterwards.
In 1910 he became
the national champion in singles for the second time.
In 1911 he successfully defended his national title.
He was defeated by Curt Brandis in the Hungarian Athletics Club international tournament.
In 1912 he won the
Tátralomnic championship.
That year he also clinched the Hungarian Athletics Club international championships as well.
In 1913 Zsigmondy fell short to
Béla von Kehrling
Béla von Kehrling ( hu, Kehrling Béla ; 25 January 1891 – 26 April 1937) was a Hungarian tennis, table tennis, and football player but eventually a winter sportsman familiar with ice-hockey and occasionally competing in bobsleigh. He compet ...
for claiming his fourth national title although they won the doubles contest together.
In the 1914
World Hard Court Championships in
Saint Cloud in June he teamed up with
Béla von Kehrling
Béla von Kehrling ( hu, Kehrling Béla ; 25 January 1891 – 26 April 1937) was a Hungarian tennis, table tennis, and football player but eventually a winter sportsman familiar with ice-hockey and occasionally competing in bobsleigh. He compet ...
and reached the semifinals only losing to
Arthur Gore and
Algernon Kingscote of Great Britain in straight sets.
The same month he lost again to Kehrling in the Hungarian Lawn Tennis National Championships.
Golf career
As a result of his fading health he had to give up tennis and started to pursue amateur golf.
In 3–7 June 1929 Zsigmondy won a couple of titles in the Wiener Golf-Club championships, including the mixed doubles alongside Mrs. Pollack von Parnau. In
handicap contest (against
bogey) he was defeated by G. Hänel. In the Grave-yard handicap he finished first with a score of (17) 19
greenen.
In September in the international golf challenge between Hungary and Germany Zsigmondy lost both of his matches in singles and mixed doubles. On the 7th of the same month he traveled to
Vienna for the International Country Club of
Lainz, but fell in the qualification rounds.
In October he reached the quarterfinal of the Hungarian International Golf Championships. In the Illés Gara Memorial Tournament
I. Scratch contest and
III. Handicap contest he finished sixth on both events. For the Zichy travelling trophy in mid-October he earned a shared second place in Bogey handicap.
In 1935 there was a Zsigmondy Jenő memorial golf contest, won by István von Rakovszky.
Personal life
He studied law and in early May 1913 he graduated becoming a lawyer.
He married Alice Gstettner, a singing master from
Vienna. They had two daughters Magda and Éva.
He died on 30 July 1930 in Paris due to a disease.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zsigmondy, Jeno
1888 births
1930 deaths
Hungarian male tennis players
Hungarian male golfers
Tennis players from Budapest
Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Olympic tennis players for Hungary
20th-century Hungarian people