Baron János Jeszenák de Királyfia (; 22 January 1800 – 10 October 1849) was a Hungarian politician, noble, Inspector of the Lutheran Diocese of Cisdanubia. He is a martyr of the

Hungarian Revolution of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

. His great-grandchild was Count

János Esterházy Count János Eszterházy (; rarely ; March 14, 1901 – March 8, 1957) was a prominent politician of Hungarian ethnicity in inter-war Czechoslovakia and later in the First Slovak Republic. He was a member of the Czechoslovak Parliament and ...

Family

Baron János (IV) Jeszenák was born into an old noble family in

Pozsony Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

(today: ''Bratislava, Slovakia'') on 22 January 1800. The family had lands in Királyfia,

Pozsony County Pozsony county was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now mostly part of Slovakia, while a small area belongs to Hungary. In 1969, the three villages that remained in H ...

(today part of

Šamorín Šamorín (; , ) is a small town in western Slovakia, southeast of Bratislava. Etymology The name is derived from a patron saint of a local church Sancta Maria, mentioned for the first time as ''villa Sancti Marie'' (1285). Today's name is an a ...

). János' father was János III, Inspector of the Lutheran Diocese of Cisdanubia from 1814 to 1823, who donated his books to the

Hungarian National Museum The Hungarian National Museum (, ) was founded in 1802 and is the national museum for the history, art, and archaeology of Hungary, including areas not within Hungary's modern borders, such as Transylvania; it is separate to the collection of int ...

in 1808. János had a younger sister, Lujza, who married to Count Sámuel Teleki (1792–1857) János IV married Countess Alojzia Forgách de Ghymes et Gács (born 1810). They had several children. The oldest one, János (V) served as a hussar lieutenant in the

Imperial and Royal Army The Common Army (, ) as it was officially designated by the Imperial and Royal Military Administration, was the largest part of the Austro-Hungarian land forces from 1867 to 1914, the other two elements being the Imperial-Royal Landwehr (of Au ...

. He was the last male member of the family, because his younger brothers, Sándor and Béla died in childhood. János Jeszenák also had two daughters: Lujza was the wife of Gyula Draskóczi. Gizella married to Count István Esterházy de Galántha (1822–1899), honvéd captain, Member of Parliament and Lord Lieutenant (Count; ''comes'') of Pozsony County (1875-1889). Theirs descendant was Count János Esterházy.

Career

After finishing his studies in Pozsony, he traveled around

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, including

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. As a member of the Hungarian delegation, he participated in the coronation ceremony of George IV on 19 July 1821 led by ambassador, later Minister besides the King

Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy Paul III Anton, Prince Esterházy (German language, German: ''Paul Anton Esterházy von Galantha''; 11 March 178621 May 1866) was a Hungary, Hungarian prince, a member of the famous House of Esterházy, Esterházy family. He was the son of Niko ...

.Hermann, Róbert: ''Jeszenák János báró''. p. 240. His principal residence and official domicile was located in Szenicze (today

Senica Senica (; ; ) is a town in Trnava Region, western Slovakia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the Záhorie lowland, close to the Little Carpathians. Etymology The name is derived from the word ''seno'' ' hay' with the suffix ''-ica'' us ...

, Slovakia) where his family owned a farm. He attended the council of

Nyitra County Nyitra County (; ; ; ) was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory lay in what is now western Slovakia. Geography Nyitra County shared borders with the Austrian land Moravia and Trencsén County, Turó ...

and joined to the opposition. There he developed a fondness for the ideas of 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 ...

, who became his pen-pal and friend. He became Inspector General of the Deanery of Nyitra, and, since 1841, he was appointed Inspector of the Lutheran Diocese of Cisdanubia, besides Count Károly Zay. He held that position until his death. During the

Hungarian Reform Era The Hungarian Reform Era was a period of Hungarian history in the 19th century characterized by a distancing from Habsburg rule. Its beginning was marked by the reconvening of the Diet of Hungary of 1825 and the foundation of the Hungarian Acade ...

, he participated as an oppositional emissary in the works of the Upper House of the

Diet of Hungary The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale () was the most important political assembly in Hungary since the 12th century, which emerged to the position of the supreme legislative institution in the Kingdom ...

. He supported, among others, Széchenyi's idea about construction of a bridge between

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

and Pest, proposal of Orders about new buildings of the

and also embraced the cause of the "Védegylet" defence society. He came into a closer contact with Count

Lajos Batthyány Count Lajos Batthyány de Németújvár (; ; 10 February 1807 – 6 October 1849) was the first Prime Minister of Hungary. He was born in Pozsony (modern-day Bratislava) on 10 February 1807, and was executed by firing squad in Pest, Hungary, Pe ...

, while his relationship with Széchenyi had broken down.Hermann, Róbert: ''Jeszenák János báró''. p. 241. As a reliable reformer, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant (Count; ''comes'') then Government Commissioner of Nyitra County by

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Bertalan Szemere Bertalan Szemere (also referred to as Bartholomew Szemere, 27 August 1812 – 18 January 1869) was a Hungary, Hungarian poet and nationalist who became the third List of Prime Ministers of Hungary, Prime Minister of Hungary during the short peri ...

. He was nominated to the position of Government Commissioner in the army which fought against the rebels in

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary (, "Upland"), is the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been called ''Felső-Magyarország'' ( literally: "Upper Hungary"; ). During the ...

References

Sources

* Hermann, Róbert: ''Jeszenák János báró''. In: Vértanúk könyve. A magyar forradalom és szabadságharc mártírjai 1848-1854. Rubicon könyvek. Bp. 2007. pp. 240–245.
Jeszenszky Géza emlékbeszéde
* Hermann, Róbert: ''1848–1849. A szabadságharc hadtörténete.'' Korona Kiadó, Bp., 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeszenak, Janos 1800 births 1849 deaths Politicians from Bratislava Hungarian barons Hungarians in Slovakia Hungarian Lutherans Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1848–1849) People of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Executed Hungarian people Executed politicians People executed by the Austrian Empire 19th-century executions by Austria