Gyula Vargha (1853-1929)

Gyula Vargha, an excellent representative of Hungarian statistics and economics (finance), and an acknowledged poet of his age, was born in Káva in Pest county on 4 November 1853. He passed his school-leaving examination in 1871, in 1872 started his studies in law, and from this year worked in the National Statistical Office - as a trainee. In 1878 he finished his university studies, in 1882 he got married: his wife was Polixénia (Póla) Szász, the daughter of Károly Szász, the later Calvinist bishop. Five children were born to them. He died on 2 May 1929.

Career in the Office, scientific acknowledgements, major works

From 1882 he was an abstractor, from 1886 a ministerial secretary, from 1892 a ministerial (department) counsellor and the Vice-Director of the Office, from 1901 the Director of the Office for 14 years, from 1914 the Political Secretary of the Ministry of Trade Affairs, Deputy Minister, parliamentary representative of the town of Kassa, in 1917 he was retired after 45 years of public service.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences elected him its corresponding member in 1892, full member in 1907 and honorary member in 1924. From 1928 to his death he was elected the Vice-President of the Academy. He was the member of several international statistical scientific associations, and a full, later an honorary member of the Hungarian Statistical Association, established in 1922.

Major studies, professional works:

Magyarország egyletei és társulatai 1878-ban - Associations and societies in Hungary in 1878 (Bp., 1880)
Magyar nyelv hódításai az utóbbi 10 év alatt - Conquests of the Hungarian language in the last 10 years (Közgazd. és Közigazgatási Szemle, 1893)
Magyarország pénzintézetei - Financial institutions in Hungary (Bp., 1895)
A magyar hitelügy és hitelintézetek története - History of Hungarian credit operations and credit institutions (Bp., 1896)
Békés vármegye mezőgazdasága - Agriculture in Békés county (Bp., 1899)
A magyarság félévszázados fejlődése - Development of the Hungarian nation over half a century (Közgazd. Szemle, 1902)
A magyar birodalom vázlatos ismertetése - Brief account of the Hungarian empire (Közgazdasági Értesítő, 1908)

Literary achievements

In acknowledgement of his achievements as a poet he was elected a member of the Kisfaludy Society in 1883, its second secretary in 1891, its secretary-general in 1900, and its vice-president in 1922.
In the history of literature Gyula Vargha is considered as a member of the second generation of the popular-national trend, whose modern-tone poems served as a bridge to the generation of the "Nyugat". His poetry had a proven impact on Endre Ady, Dezső Kosztolányi and Attila József.

Major literary works:

Dalok (poems, Bp.1881)
Pieces of poetry of Gyula Vargha (Bp.1915)
Ködben (poems, Bp.1922)
A végtelen felé (poems, Bp.1923)
Hamvadó tüzek (poems, Bp.1927)

Further information on the life and achievements of Gyula Vargha are available in Hungarian through the following links:
http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vargha_Gyula
http://vargharefiskola.gportal.hu/
http://www.ksh.hu/statszemle_archive/2005/2005_09/2005_09_864.pdf