Peter Laszlo Lantos (born 1939) is a British scientist and author of
Hungarian Jewish origin, He was born in
Makó
Makó (, german: Makowa, yi, מאַקאָווע Makowe, ro, Macău or , sk, Makov) is a town in Csongrád County, in southeastern Hungary, from the Romanian border. It lies on the Maros River. Makó is home to 23,272 people and it has an area ...
in southeast
Hungary. In 1944, when Peter was five, his family were deported to
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp because of the Holocaust.
At the concentration camp, the Nazis murdered his father through
grueling forced labor. Peter and his mother were sent back to Hungary on a train that was meant to go to a death camp, meaning they were free from the Holocaust but 21 members of his family had died, including his older brother Gyuri, like him a talented mathematician. He completed his medical studies in Hungary before moving to the UK in 1968 for further education and research.
Lantos decided to remain in the UK permanently and was sentenced to prison
in absentia by the Hungarian authorities for his defection. As a result he would not be able to visit his homeland until the fall of Communism in 1989. As a medical researcher, Lantos published more than 500 scientific articles, in addition to numerous textbooks. He worked variously at the
Middlesex Hospital Medical School, the Middlesex Hospital, and the
Maudsley Hospital, London. He is especially well known for his research on
neurodegenerative diseases
A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic ...
. (The
Papp–Lantos inclusion is named after him.) In recognition of his achievements, he was appointed Fellow of the
Academy of Medical Sciences.
As an author, Lantos was lauded for his
Holocaust memoir called ''Parallel Lines'' (Arcadia, 2007). His
debut novel ''Closed Horizon'' was published in 2012 and a book aimed at younger readers that recounted his time in Bergen-Belsen, ''The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die,'' was published in 2023.
Lantos was awarded the
British Empire Medal
The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...
(BEM) in the
2020 Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...
for services to Holocaust education and awareness.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lantos, Peter
British people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
British Jewish writers
British writers
British scientists
1939 births
Living people
Hungarian emigrants to England
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Recipients of the British Empire Medal