Oszkár Szirmai (Spitzer)
Oszkár Szirmai Szirmai Nagysárosi (1858-1943) was an economist, president and CEO. He started his career at the Hungarian General Credit Bank, then moved to the Kőolajfinomítógyár Részvénytársaság, where he became deputy director and later director. Between 1912 and 1935, he was President of the Budapest-Szentlőrinci and Tatai Cserép- és Téglagyár Részvénytársaság, and also held the position of director or member of the board of directors of several other companies. He died in Budapest in 1943.
Oszkár Szirmai was born in 1858 in Vienna in an Israelite family. He studied at the Budapest Commercial Academy and at the same time, at the age of 15, he joined the Hungarian General Credit Bank. He immediately took up a position there in 1873. After years at the MÁH, he joined the Kőolajfinomítógyár Részvénytársaság, which had close links with the bank. In 1895 he was appointed deputy director, later director. He later became Chairman and Managing Director of this company, a position he held until his death. In 1904, thanks to Franz Joseph, he was granted a nobility and a coat of arms with the prefix of the great city. His family name was then changed from the foreign-sounding Spitzer to Szirmai.
In 1890 he married Anna Reinitz, by whom he had three children. The youngest of these was Julia. A major influence on Szirmai's life was the suicide of his youngest child, his only daughter Julia Szirmai, in 1927. The case caused a sensation in the press. The 8 Hour Newspaper called it a "spiritual deception", while Az Est said it was a premeditated decision that led to the terrible tragedy. The girl graduated from the University of Pécs in 1925, and was then transferred to the internal medicine department of the Szent István Hospital. In addition to practical medicine, she was also extremely interested in theoretical medical chemistry and spent her free time in laboratories doing research. In June 1927 he was working abroad, where he contracted pleurisy and returned home. Although this had no medical consequences for him, according to the press, he poisoned himself with cyanide.
In addition to the above-mentioned activities, he was an active participant in the economic life. He was president of the National Association of Hungarian Chemical Manufacturers, and from 1924 he was its honorary vice-president. He was also a board member of the National Association of Industrialists. He was also a member of the Hungarian Trade Statistics Valuation Committee and a member of the professional group of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In recognition of his activities, he was first appointed Trade Counsellor and then Chief Government Counsellor.
In the 1920s he was actively involved in the management of the Hungarian oil market. He was a member of the narrow family-business lobby that controlled the Hungarian market and was on the board of directors of almost all the major oil production and marketing companies, including the Hungarian and Galician Petroleum Industry Joint Stock Company, the Hungarian General Credit Bank's Kőolajfinomítógyár Joint Stock Company, the Budapest Mineral Oil Company, the Central Mineral Oil Industry Joint Stock Company and the Hungarian Association of Mineral Oil Refineries Joint Stock Company.
He died in Budapest on 27 March 1943, aged 85. He was laid to rest on 29 March in the cemetery on Kerepesi Road.
Sources
The lexicon of Hungarian society. Lexicon of Hungarian Society Publishing Company. Budapest, 1930. 548.
Béla Kempelen: Hungarian Jews and Families of Jewish Origin 2. Budapest, 1938. 122.
György Kövér:Bankers and Bureaucrats (The Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the Hungarian General Credit Bank, 1876-1905). Aetas. 2005. 20(1-2), 102.
Szilárd Pártos (ed.): Yearbook and Directory of the Hungarian Manufacturing Industry. Budapest, 1941. 224.
Attila Seres:Hungarian foreign trade policy and the Soviet market in the 1920s. Historical Review, 2008. 50(3).
Born: 1858
Place of birth: Vienna
Date of death: 27 March 1943.
Place of death: Budapest
Occupation: economist, senior government adviser, CEO of the Petroleum Refinery Joint Stock Company, President of the Budapest-Szentlőrinci and Tatai Cserép- és Téglagyár Joint Stock Company
Parents:
Spouses: Anna Reinitz
Children: József Szirmai, Oliver Szirmai, Julia Szirmai
Author: Róbert Szabó
Born: 1858
Place of birth: Vienna
Date of death: 27 March 1943.
Place of death: Budapest
Occupation: economist, senior government adviser, CEO of the Petroleum Refinery Joint Stock Company, President of the Budapest-Szentlőrinci and Tatai Cserép- és Téglagyár Joint Stock Company
Parents:
Spouses: Anna Reinitz
Children: József Szirmai, Oliver Szirmai, Julia Szirmai
Author: Róbert Szabó
Oszkár Szirmai (Spitzer)
Oszkár Szirmai Szirmai Nagysárosi (1858-1943) was an economist, president and CEO. He started his career at the Hungarian General Credit Bank, then moved to the Kőolajfinomítógyár Részvénytársaság, where he became deputy director and later director. Between 1912 and 1935, he was President of the Budapest-Szentlőrinci and Tatai Cserép- és Téglagyár Részvénytársaság, and also held the position of director or member of the board of directors of several other companies. He died in Budapest in 1943.
Oszkár Szirmai was born in 1858 in Vienna in an Israelite family. He studied at the Budapest Commercial Academy and at the same time, at the age of 15, he joined the Hungarian General Credit Bank. He immediately took up a position there in 1873. After years at the MÁH, he joined the Kőolajfinomítógyár Részvénytársaság, which had close links with the bank. In 1895 he was appointed deputy director, later director. He later became Chairman and Managing Director of this company, a position he held until his death. In 1904, thanks to Franz Joseph, he was granted a nobility and a coat of arms with the prefix of the great city. His family name was then changed from the foreign-sounding Spitzer to Szirmai.
In 1890 he married Anna Reinitz, by whom he had three children. The youngest of these was Julia. A major influence on Szirmai's life was the suicide of his youngest child, his only daughter Julia Szirmai, in 1927. The case caused a sensation in the press. The 8 Hour Newspaper called it a "spiritual deception", while Az Est said it was a premeditated decision that led to the terrible tragedy. The girl graduated from the University of Pécs in 1925, and was then transferred to the internal medicine department of the Szent István Hospital. In addition to practical medicine, she was also extremely interested in theoretical medical chemistry and spent her free time in laboratories doing research. In June 1927 he was working abroad, where he contracted pleurisy and returned home. Although this had no medical consequences for him, according to the press, he poisoned himself with cyanide.
In addition to the above-mentioned activities, he was an active participant in the economic life. He was president of the National Association of Hungarian Chemical Manufacturers, and from 1924 he was its honorary vice-president. He was also a board member of the National Association of Industrialists. He was also a member of the Hungarian Trade Statistics Valuation Committee and a member of the professional group of the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In recognition of his activities, he was first appointed Trade Counsellor and then Chief Government Counsellor.
In the 1920s he was actively involved in the management of the Hungarian oil market. He was a member of the narrow family-business lobby that controlled the Hungarian market and was on the board of directors of almost all the major oil production and marketing companies, including the Hungarian and Galician Petroleum Industry Joint Stock Company, the Hungarian General Credit Bank's Kőolajfinomítógyár Joint Stock Company, the Budapest Mineral Oil Company, the Central Mineral Oil Industry Joint Stock Company and the Hungarian Association of Mineral Oil Refineries Joint Stock Company.
He died in Budapest on 27 March 1943, aged 85. He was laid to rest on 29 March in the cemetery on Kerepesi Road.
Sources
The lexicon of Hungarian society. Lexicon of Hungarian Society Publishing Company. Budapest, 1930. 548.
Béla Kempelen: Hungarian Jews and Families of Jewish Origin 2. Budapest, 1938. 122.
György Kövér:Bankers and Bureaucrats (The Board of Directors and the Board of Directors of the Hungarian General Credit Bank, 1876-1905). Aetas. 2005. 20(1-2), 102.
Szilárd Pártos (ed.): Yearbook and Directory of the Hungarian Manufacturing Industry. Budapest, 1941. 224.
Attila Seres:Hungarian foreign trade policy and the Soviet market in the 1920s. Historical Review, 2008. 50(3).