Gábor Kornél Tolnai

Gábor Kornél Tolnai
Gábor Kornél Tolnai in 1935
Born	(1902-11-22)November 22, 1902 Budapest, Austria-Hungary
Died	February 3, 1982(1982-02-03) (aged 79) , Sweden
Residence	Stockholm
Nationality	Swedish
Citizenship	Swedish (post-1940) Hungarian (pre-1940)
Alma mater	Technical University of Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
Known for	Devices for Spinning Machines: Centralograph, Teletachograph, Regulator Tempering machine: Impulse engine Fire-control system for the Swedish National Defense (Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration: Central Instrument and Rapportoskop Tolnai Tape recorders of his own: Tolnai LP16, Tolnai LP20, Tolnai LP24, Tolnai LP28, Tolnai Studymaster.
Scientific career
Fields	Mechanical engineering Precision engineering Electrical engineering
Institutions	Linum-Taussig, Budapest and Győr Dipl.ing. G.K.Tolnai Okl. Gépészmérnök Finommechanikai Készülékek (Apparatebauanstalt), IX Budapest, Mester-útca 13, a precision-tool workshop of his own Ericsson, Stockholm and Budapest Bofors AB G.K. Tolnai, .
Doctoral advisor	Diploma Engineer's degree

Gábor Kornél Tolnai, born November 22, 1902 in Budapest, died on February 3, 1982 in , was a Hungarian-Swedish Diploma engineer, inventor, constructor, mechanical engineer, precision engineer, electrical engineer and a self-employed person. He is best known for his inventions and patents for spinning machines, devices for the Swedish National Defense and several types of tape recorders.

Kornél Tolnai was born in 1902 in Budapest in Hungary and took his Diploma Engineer's degree at the Technical University of Budapest in 1924.

During the years 1928-1931 Kornél Tolnai made three inventions of his own, Centralograph, Teletachograph and Regulator, which he accomplished completely. After that he came into contact with the Swedish LM Ericsson. They bought his patents and then he was working at LM Ericsson, both in and in Budapest for some years. He set up an experimental workshop in Stockholm and worked with designs and inventions, some of which led to patents. He was active in Sweden from 1935 and became a Swedish citizen in 1940.

Gábor Kornél Tolnai was the son of Gábor Tolnai and his wife Ilona Tolnai. His father was active in the Magyar Államvasutak, the Hungarian State Railways, popularly MÁV.

In 1932 he met his Swedish wife at a party in the "Winter garden" (Vinterträdgården) at in , when the Swedish-Hungarian society had a jubilee. The Swedish artist David Wallin had just sold a painting, Mother and Child, to the Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest (Hungarian: Szépművészeti Múzeum), and David Wallin was invited to () and he took his 22-year-old daughter Bianca with him. She was an educated artist. Kornél and Bianca engaged on January 24, 1935. In 1935, on September 17, Kornél Tolnai married the Swedish artist Bianca Wallin (1909-2006). She was the daughter of the famous artist David Wallin (1876-1957) and his wife Elin Wallin (1884-1969). In 1935 the couple settled down in and in 1942 he moved with his family to a large villa in Bromma, outside Stockholm, where he lived with his family until he died in 1982 at nearly eighty years of age. He had three daughters, Eva, born in 1939, Monika, born in 1942 and Hillevi, born in 1944.