Famous Hungarians and Inventions
This is a list of notable Hungarian Americans who either came to America, or were born in America to Hungarian parents. This list is far from inclusive, but exemplifies, along with the other sections, the Hungarian Genius!
- Scientists and Inventors
- Medicine
- Artists
- Politicians
- Musicians and Composers
- Sports
- Filmmakers
- Actors
- Other Contributing Hungarian Americans
Scientists and Inventors
Zoltan Bay
Physicist, First to use radar to take measurements of the moon
Antal Bejczy
Engineer, Developed Mars Rover “Sojourner,” and Pathfinder’s Remote Control System
Dennis Gabor
Nobel Prize 1971, Holographic Method
Joseph Galamb
Ford Chief Engineer, Designed the Model “T” and Model “A” Ford, the Fordson Tractor, invented the Ignition Plug and the Planetary Gearbox, and prepared the production of Liberty aircraft engines
Peter Goldmark
Engineer, CBS Chief Scientist – Invented the Color Television, 33 1/3 LP Record, and the Electronic Video Recorder. National Medal of Science
Dr. Andrew Grove
Founder, Intel Corporation. Time’s Man of the Year for 1998
John Harsanyi
Nobel Prize 1994, Game Theory. “For his pioneering analysis of equilibrium in the theory of non-cooperative games.” Shared prize with A Beautful Mind’s John Nash
George Olah
Nobel Price 1994, Hydrocarbon research
Ferenc Pavlics
Developer of Moon-vehicle
Leo Szilard
Helped develop the atomic bomb
Edward Teller
Father of Hydrogen bomb
Theodore Von Karman
Aeronautical Engineer & Mathematician. The Father of the Supersonic Flight and a founder of the aeronautical and astronautical sciences. Developed the B-52 bomber, Titan and Minuteman missiles.
John Von Neumann
Father of computer science, Physicist, Logician, and Computing Pioneer: Co-developed the Atomic Bomb. Father of Binary Code and the Stored Program Computer, Father of Game Theory. Key in development of U.S. ballistic missile program
Eugene Wigner
Nobel Prize for Theory of Atomic Nucleus
Mária Telkes the „sun queen”. She worked as a biophysicist in the United States, designing the first solar heating system for the Dover Sun House in Dover, Massachusetts in 1947. She was a prolific inventor of practical thermal devices, including a miniature desalination unit for use on lifeboats, which used solar power and condensation to collect potable solar still. The still saved the lives of airman and sailors who would have been without water when abandoned at sea.
Medicine
Georg Von Bekesy
Nobel Prize 1961, Differentiate various forms of deafness
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Renowned Psychologist, Father of “Flow Theory,” former Chair of University of Chicago’s Department of Psychology, and Bestselling Author
Bela Schick
Nobel Prize, Father of Modern Pediatrics
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Nobel Prize, Effects of Vitamin C
Artists
Victor Vasarely
Contemporary Artist
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
Designer, Founder of the Chicago Art Institute, Avant-Garde Painter, designer, and experimental photographer: A Founder of Constructivism, Professor and Director at the Bauhaus School of Design, Chicago,
Marcel Breuer
Architect, Designer, Founded Whitney Museum of American Art
Andre Kertesz
Photographer
Cornell Capa
Established the International Center of Photography in New York
Politicians
Ernest Istook
US Congressman, Republican from Oklahoma, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee, Co-Chair of the Hungarian Caucus in the US House of Representatives
Tom Lantos
Former U.S. Congressman from California
George Pataki
Former Governor of New York; father was Hungarian
Musicians and Composers
Bela Bartok
Composer, Ethnomusicologist
Antal Dorati
Conductor, Minneapolis Orchestra, Composer
Mark and David Knopfler
Legendary, Grammy Award-winning Rock Musicians of Dire Straits: “The Sultans of Rock” and “the finest British band of all time.”
Zoltan Kodaly
Composer, educator, ethnomusicologist, linguist, author and philosopher
Desmond Child
Musician, songwriter, and producer. Member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
Eugene Ormandy
Conductor, Philadelphia Orchestra
Tommy Ramone
Drummer and Producer of the Legendary, Pioneering Punk Rockers, the Ramones
Fritz Reiner
Conductor, Cincinnati Orchestra and Metropolitan Opera
Miklos Rozsa
Triple Oscar Winning Film Composer
Gene Simmons
KISS Legendary Rock-n-Roller!
Sir George Solti
Conductor, Chicago Orchestra
George Szell
Conductor, Cleveland Orchestra
Sports
Larry Csonka
Pro-Football Player
Jimmy and Charlie Gogolak
Pro-Football Players, New York Giants
Lou “The Toe” Groza
NFL Football Player, Record-setting Tackle and Placekicker for the Cleveland Browns. 9 Pro-Bowls, Hall of Famer
George “Papa Bear” Halas
Legendary Hall of Fame Football Coach, Father of the NFL
Bernie Kosar
Superbowl winning Quarterback. Played for the Browns, Cowboys and the Dolphins
Joseph Nagy
Olympic Gold Medalist and Swimming coach
Joe Nemeth
Football, Quarterback, Super Bowl Quarterback and MVP (New York Jets), and Hall of Famer
Tom Orosz
NFL Football Player. Superbowl Punter for the Miami Dolphins #3
Don Shula
Football Coach, Miami Dolphins
Monica Seles
Tennis Superstar. She has won 9 Grand Slam singles titles and bronze in Sydney 2000!
Filmmakers
Michael Curtiz
Oscar Winning Director of “Casablanca”
George Cukor
Double Oscar-Winning Director
Gabor Csupo
Leader of the new generation of animation. 5 EMMYS and 2 CABLE ACE Awards. Animator of Rugrats and the early Simpsons
Frank Darabont
Director/Writer, 2 Oscar Nominations for The Green Mile, “One of the best writer/directors of his generation”
Joe Eszterhas
Prolific Screenwriter, Basic Instinct, Sliver, Flashdance
William Fox
Producer and Hollywood Mogul, Founder of Fox Studios
Eva Gardos
Acclaimed Screenwriter, Director, and Editor
Robert Halmi, Sr.
Producer, “Tele-Visionary,” Chairman of Hallmark Entertainment, the most prolific producer in TV history: multiple Emmy Award winner and 1999 Peabody Award winner
Alexander Korda
Oscar Nominated Producer / Director: A “Hollywood Renegade” & Founding Member of The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers.
Joe Pasternak
MGM Producer
Darryl F. Zanuck
Head of 20th Century
Adolph Zukor,
Founder, Paramount Pictures
Andrew G. Vajna
Producer, Hollywood Legend: President of Cinergi Productions, co-Founder of Carolco Pictures
Vilmos Zsigmond
Cinematographer
Actors
Vilma Banky
Actor
Drew Barrymore
Actress, Model, Producer, Philanthropist, “America’s Sweetheart”
Adrien Brody
Actor. Oscar Nominated for “The Pianist”
Jamie Lee Curtis
Actress
Tony Curtis
Oscar-Nominated Actor, Artist, and Hollywood Legend
Eva and Zsazsa Gabor
Actresses
Mariska Hargitay
Actress, Law and Order, ER, Leaving Las Vegas
Goldie Hawn
Actress and Academy Award Nominee for Private Benjamin. Tentative honoree
Bela Lugosi
Actor, The Original Dracula
Ali McGraw
Actress
Paul Newman
Oscar Winning Actor, Eight Oscar Nominations
Other Contributing Hungarian Americans
Michael De Fabritzky Kovats
Colonel in the Revolutionary War, US Military Hero, Founding Father of the US Cavalry,
Lincoln’s Hungarian Heroes. The participation of Hungarians in the Civil War
Alexander Asboth
General, US Chief-of-Staff, US Minister to Argentina
Philip Figyelmessy
US Inspector General
Lajos Kossuth
Hungarian war hero. He gave speeches in America about democracy.
Huba Wass de Czege
Brigadier General, US Army Founding Director of the US Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies and Architect of AirLand Battle Doctrine
Joseph Pulitzer
Creator of the Pulitzer Price in 1912. Founder of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Agoston Haraszty
Colonel, “Father of California Wine Culture!” – Ronald Reagan
Ladislao Biro
Inventor, Developed Bic Ballpoint Pen in 1938 and the automatic gearbox for automobiles.
Charles Fleischmann
Founder of the famous Standard Brands Yeast Company of Fleischmann’s Yeast fame
Eugene Fodor
Founder of “Fodor’s Travel Guides”
Milton Friedman
Nobel Prize 1976 “for his achievements in the fields of consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the complexity of stabilization policy”.
George Soros
Philanthropist
Erno Rubic
Inventor, Rubic’s Cube
Harry Houdini
The “Greatest Magician on Earth,” Actor, Pioneer Pilot
Estee Lauder
Founder of the current world cosmetics leader
Adrienne Vittadini
Designer of sportswear, glasses and perfume
Tommy Ramone
Drummer and Producer of the Legendary, Pioneering Punk Rockers, the Ramones
