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The János Bolyai Mathematical Society
Founded in 1891
The János Bolyai Mathematical Society has its beginnings in the Mathematical Society (Mathematikai Társaság), an informal private society for the mathematicians in Budapest in 1885. Lóránd Eötvös, Jenö Hunyadi, Gyula König, and others set up these meetings but there was no formal statutes, no officers of the Society and the meetings are reported to have looked like dinner parties except for the blackboard.
Although initially only a mathematical society, physicists were encouraged to join, and in June 1891 the first issue of their journal Mathematikai és Physikai Lapok was published. Work was now going on to formalise the Society and statutes were being drawn up. On 5 November 1891 the Mathematical and Physical Society was founded and held its inaugural meeting with 298 people present. The president was the physicist Loránd Eötvös, and the vice president was the mathematician Gyula König.
König stressed the fact that:-
In 1921, after the death of Loránd Eötvös in 1919, the Mathematical and Physical Society was renamed the Eötvös Loránd Mathematical and Physical Society. In 1944, after losing its possessions in the seige of Budapest, the Society ceased to exist.
After World War II there was no way of re-founding the Society. On 21 June 1947 the János Bolyai Mathematical Society was formed in Szeged as one of the successors of the Eötvös Loránd Mathematical and Physical Society. It was hard to control the life of the Society from Szeged, so in 1949 the head office moved to Budapest. The number of members soon reached 1500; today (in 2025) it is still around 1200. The Society became a member of the Association of Technical and Natural Sciences Societies in 1948, of the International Mathematical Union in 1956, and of the European Mathematical Society in 1990.
Presidents
1947-1948 László Rédei
1949-1963 György Alexits
1963-1972 György Hajós
1972-1975 László Fejes Tóth
1975-1976 Pál Turán
1976-1980 János Surányi
1980-1990 Ákos Császár
1990-1996 András Hajnal
1996-2005 Imre Csiszár
2006-2018 Gyula Katona
2018- Péter Pál Pálfy
Although initially only a mathematical society, physicists were encouraged to join, and in June 1891 the first issue of their journal Mathematikai és Physikai Lapok was published. Work was now going on to formalise the Society and statutes were being drawn up. On 5 November 1891 the Mathematical and Physical Society was founded and held its inaugural meeting with 298 people present. The president was the physicist Loránd Eötvös, and the vice president was the mathematician Gyula König.
König stressed the fact that:-
... all who work and teach in the fields of mathematics can be chosen members.By 1893 over 400 people had joined the Mathematical and Physical Society.
In 1921, after the death of Loránd Eötvös in 1919, the Mathematical and Physical Society was renamed the Eötvös Loránd Mathematical and Physical Society. In 1944, after losing its possessions in the seige of Budapest, the Society ceased to exist.
After World War II there was no way of re-founding the Society. On 21 June 1947 the János Bolyai Mathematical Society was formed in Szeged as one of the successors of the Eötvös Loránd Mathematical and Physical Society. It was hard to control the life of the Society from Szeged, so in 1949 the head office moved to Budapest. The number of members soon reached 1500; today (in 2025) it is still around 1200. The Society became a member of the Association of Technical and Natural Sciences Societies in 1948, of the International Mathematical Union in 1956, and of the European Mathematical Society in 1990.
Presidents
1947-1948 László Rédei
1949-1963 György Alexits
1963-1972 György Hajós
1972-1975 László Fejes Tóth
1975-1976 Pál Turán
1976-1980 János Surányi
1980-1990 Ákos Császár
1990-1996 András Hajnal
1996-2005 Imre Csiszár
2006-2018 Gyula Katona
2018- Péter Pál Pálfy
Visit the society website.
References (show)
- B Szénássy, History of Mathematics in Hungary until the 20th Century (Berlin-Heidelberg-New York, 1992).
- 75 years of our Society (Hungarian), Matematikai Lapok 17 (1966), 195-308.
Last Updated August 2004