Count Ferenc Széchényi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (28 April 1754 – 13 December 1820) was a Hungarian nobleman and statesman, known for founding the

Hungarian National Library Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

and the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Early life

He was born on 28 April 1754 in Fertőszéplak,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

. He was the sixth child of Count Zsigmond Széchényi (1720–1769), a captain of the

hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

and Imperial and Royal Chamberlain and his wife Countess Mária Cziráky of Cirák and Dénesfalva (1724–1787). His godparents were Doctor Ádám Groff and his wife Katalin Khellesz. He had an older brother and three sisters who all married into prominent

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

families. He was educated at the

Theresianum Theresianum (or Theresian Academy; ) is a private Boarding school, boarding and day school governed by the laws for public schools in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1746 by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. History Early history (1614–1 ...

in Vienna.

Career

From 1785 to 1786, he was Lord-Lieutenant of

Tolna County Tolna (, ; ) is an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus or vármegye) in present-day Hungary as it was in the former Kingdom of Hungary. It lies in central Hungary, on the west bank of the river Danube. It shares borde ...

Somogy County Somogy (, ; ; , ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') in present Hungary, and also in the former Kingdom of Hungary. Somogy County lies in south-western Hungary, on the border with Croatia's Koprivnica- ...

Baranya County Baranya (, ; German language, German:Croatian language, Croatian:'' Baranjska županija'') is a Counties of Hungary, county () in southern Hungary. It is part of the Southern Transdanubia statistical region and the historical Baranya (region), B ...

Syrmia County Syrmia County (, , , ) was a historic administrative subdivision ('' županija'') of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( Transleithania), the Hungarian par ...

Virovitica County Virovitica County (; ) was an administrative subdivision () of the Croatia in personal union with Hungary, Medieval Kingdom of Croatia, the Kingdom of Slavonia and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within bot ...

, and

Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...

. From 1798 to 1811, he was again Lord-Lieutenant of Somogy County, while also serving as Lord-Lieutenant of

Vas County Vas (, ; ; or ; ) is an administrative county (Counties of Hungary, comitatus or ''vármegye'') of Hungary. It was also one of the counties of the former Kingdom of Hungary. It is part of the Centrope Project. Geography Vas County lies in weste ...

from 1807 to 1811. He founded the

and the

, which, today, is named the

National Széchényi Library The National Széchényi Library (, ) (OSZK) is a library in Budapest, Hungary, located in Buda Castle. It is one of two Hungarian national libraries, the other being University of Debrecen Library. History The library was founded in 1802 by th ...

after him. He was made a

Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal. Today, two branches of the order exist, name ...

in 1808.

Personal life

On 17 August 1777 in

Kópháza Kópháza () is a village in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, ...

, Count Ferenc married Countess Julia Festetics de Tolna (1753–1824). Together, they were the parents of six children, including: * Count György Mária János Széchényi (1778–1778), who died in infancy. * Count Lajos Mária Alajos Dániel Ignác Széchényi (1781–1855), who married Countess Aloisia von Clam und Gallas. After her death in 1822, he married Countess Franziska von

Wurmbrand-Stuppach The House of Wurmbrand-Stuppach is an old noble family of Austria. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Counts of Wurmbrand-Stuppach gained notability in wars against the Ottoman Empire, Turks in the Balkans. They were highly decorated advisors ...

. * Countess Franziska Karolina Széchényi (1783–1861), who married Count Maria Miklós Valentin János Baptist Alajos

Batthyány The House of Batthyány () is an ancient and distinguished Hungarian noble magnate family. The Head of the family bears the title Prince (Fürst) of Batthyány-Strattmann, while other members of this family bear the title Count/Countess ( Graf ...

. * Countess Zsófia "Sophie" Széchényi (1788–1865), who married Count Ferdinánd Zichy-Vázsonykő. * Count

Pál Széchényi Pál is a Hungarian masculine given name, the Hungarian version of Paul. It may refer to: * Pál Almásy (1818–1882), Hungarian lawyer and politician * Pál Bedák (born 1985), Hungarian boxer * Pál Benkő (1928–2019), Hungarian-American ch ...

(1789–1871), who married Lady Caroline Meade, a daughter of

Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of Clanwilliam Richard Meade, 2nd Earl of Clanwilliam (10 May 1766 – 3 September 1805) was an Irish peer, ''styled'' Lord Gilford from 1776 to 1800. Early life Richard was born on 10 May 1766. He was the eldest of ten children born of the heiress Theodosia ...

. After her death in 1820, he married Emilie Zichy-Ferraris. * Count

István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer. Widely considered one of the greatest statesme ...

(1791–1860), who married Countess Crescencia von Seilern und Aspang in 1836. Count Ferenc died on 13 December 1820 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Descendants

Through his son Pal, he was a grandfather of, among others, Elise Széchényi (1827–1910), who married Pedro Caro y Álvarez de Toledo, 5th Marquis of La Romana, and Pál Széchenyi (1838–1901), the Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Trade of Hungary from October 1882 to April 1889. Through his son István, he was a grandfather of

Ödön Széchenyi Ödön Széchenyi (1839 – 1922) was an Imperial Ottoman pasha. He was the son of István Széchenyi and was in charge of the State Fire Brigade in Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. Early life Ödön was a member of the noble Széchenyi fami ...

(1839–1922), an Imperial Ottoman pasha who was in charge of the State Fire Brigade in Hungary and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

References

Hungarian philanthropists Ferenc Szechenyi 1820 deaths 1754 births Museum founders Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria People from the Austrian Empire {{Hungary-bio-stub