Kálmán Mikszáth

Kálmán Mikszáth de Kiscsoltó (16 January 1847 – 28 May 1910) was a widely reputed Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician. His work remains in print in Hungarian and still appears from time to time in other languages.

Biography

Mikszáth was born in Szklabonya (also known as Sklabiná or Szlabonya), Upper Hungary (now Sklabiná, Slovakia) into a family of the lesser nobility. He studied law at the University of Budapest from 1866 to 1869, although he did not apply for any exam, and became involved in journalism, writing for many Hungarian newspapers including the Pesti Hírlap.

Mikszáth's early short stories were based on the lives of peasants and artisans and had little appeal at the time. However, they demonstrated his skill in crafting humorous anecdotes, which would be developed in his later, more popular works. Many of his novels contained social commentary and satire, and towards the end of his life they became increasingly critical of the aristocracy and the burden he believed the latter placed on Hungarian society.

Mikszáth was a member of the Liberal Party, and in 1887 was elected to the Diet of Hungary (one of the two top legislatures in Austria-Hungary). Until 1879 he was the representative for the Illyefalva District in Transylvania, and from 1892 until his death he represented the Fogaras District. During his time in the Diet, he lived at Dohnányi utca 28 in central Budapest.

In 1910, the village he was born was renamed Mikszáthfalva during his 40th annual writer's jubilee.