Lajos Tolnay

 

Lajos Imre Gyula Tolnay (1837-1918) engineer, director and president of MÁV, Member of Parliament. After returning from the war for Italian unity, he was involved in railway construction and planning from the 1860s, first locally and then from the 1870s nationally. During this period he also held the post of chairman of the board of directors of the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV), and made an invaluable contribution to the development of the Hungarian state railways. In addition to his political activities, he was a member of the board of directors of several industrial companies and president of the First Hungarian Pig Fattening Corporation between 1902 and 1911.

Lajos Imre Gyula Tolnay was born on 31 May 1837 in Pest. His parents were János Tolnay, a bailiff, lawyer and legal director of the Koburg family, and Erzsébet Szontagh. His father passed away in 1847, leaving the young Tolnay a semi-orphan at the age of 10.

The young Tolnay graduated from the Evangelical High School in 1853. In 1854 he enrolled at the Joseph Ipartanode, but was drafted in 1857. He then studied at the Royal Joseph University of Technology and became a private engineer.

Between 1862 and 1866 he was involved in the construction of the Pest-Losonc railway, and between 1866 and 1870 he was chief engineer of the Kassa-Oderberg railway. Between 1870 and 1871 he was director of the Danube-Drava railway. From 1871 to 1872 he was head of the National Railway Construction Directorate. Between 1872 and 1886 he was President of the Hungarian State Railways (MÁV). In 1878, he was awarded the title of Minister Councillor for his successful work, so it is no wonder that the years 1870-1880 became known as the 'Tolnay era' of MÁV. It was during his presidency that the Budapest (later 'central', now 'eastern') railway station was built, inaugurated on 16 August 1884. In addition to the acquisition of the Tiszavík railway, he took over the Danube-Drava railway, secured the Pécs railway and voted for the construction of the Pest-Zimony railway. He was also responsible for the modernisation and "Magyarisation" of the organisation of MÁV, i.e. the reorganisation of rail transport in line with national transport policy. Through his activities, he laid the foundations for the development of a Budapest-centred railway network, introduced the new tariff system, organised domestic locomotive production and established the MÁV Northern Main Workshop (later MÁVAG).

From 1872 he was a founding member and vice-president of the Hungarian Society of Engineers and Architects, of which he was elected president in 1885. He held this post until 1891. Between 1889 and 1894 he was vice-president of the Hungarian National Economic Association and was actively involved in the First Hungarian Pig-Fattening Joint Stock Company as a member of the board of directors. He was also a board member of several financial institutions and industrial companies, such as the chairman of the Budapest Savings Bank and the National Mortgage Company. He also served as Chairman of the Railwaymen's Association of the Hungarian Holy Crown Countries between 1910 and 1918, and as Vice-Chairman of the Budapest Public Works Council between 1910 and 1912, and as its Chairman between 1912 and 1914. As the King rewarded the senior officials who once held key positions at MÁV with nobility, the title of Ministerial Councillor, Lajos Tolnay was awarded the title of Internal Privy Councillor in 1910.

Through his creative activity and popularity, he became a member of the Parliament of the IXth district of Budapest in 1887, which he continued for three more terms, under the colours of the Libertarian Party, until 1897. He moved back to Budapest in 1906, where he played a major role in the management of the merger of Ganz and Company and Danubius shipyard in 1911 and later in the construction of the Hungarian battleships at Fiume.

In recognition of his work he was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown, third class, from 1873, and the Order of the Lipót from 1881. On June 10, 1917, he was awarded the Order of the Order of the Lipót of the Order of the King of Hungary. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering (technical) sciences by the Joseph University of Technology in Budapest on 10 May 1917.

During the First World War, the King awarded him the rank of Major General for his earlier merits. He died on 21 April 1918, of consumption, according to the death certificate. His body was interred in the National Museum and buried in the Fiumei Úti cemetery.

 

Sources

László Czagányi: Lajos Tolnay from Dunaszentgyörgyi, the first president of MÁV. Hon. 1998(26), 6. 79-85.

László Czagányi - Gabriella Kulcsár:The History of Inárcs I-II. (1995.)

Béla Gadanecz:The number, distribution, economic and social situation of railwaymen at the turn of the century. Historical Review. 1981(24), 4. 553-591.

László Kántor: Lajos Tolnay, the first president of MÁV. Toláň Lajos.

Press material 1862-1918.