László Széchenyi
| László Széchenyi | |
|---|---|
Countess and Count László Széchenyi, circa 1908.
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| Born |
Count László Széchenyi de Sárvár-felsővidék February 18, 1879 Horpács, Hungary |
| Died | July 5, 1938 (aged 59) Budapest, Hungary |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Occupation | Austro Hungarian military officer, Imperial Chamberlain, diplomat, venture capitalist |
| Years active | 1879–1938 |
| Known for | Husband of Gladys Vanderbilt |
| Notable work | Hungary’s first Minister to the United States Hungary’s first Minister to the Court of Saint James in the United Kingdom |
| Spouse(s) | Gladys Vanderbilt (m. 1908–1938; his death) |
| Children | Cornelia Széchenyi Alice Széchenyi Gladys Széchenyi Sylvia Széchenyi Ferdinandine Széchenyi |
| Parent(s) | Count Imre Széchenyi de Sárvár-felsővidék Countess Maria Alexandra Josepha Joanna Sztáray-Szirmay de Sztára, Nagymihály, Csernek, Tarkeö, Szirma et Szirmabessenyő |
Count László Széchenyi de Sárvár-felsővidék (born Széchenyi László Jenő Mária Henrik Simon in Horpács, 18 February 1879–Budapest, 5 July 1938) was an Austro Hungarian military officer, Imperial Chamberlain, diplomat and venture capitalist. His great-uncle was István Széchenyi and he married Gladys Vanderbilt, the youngest daughter of Alice Claypoole Gwynne and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.
He was a son of Count Imre Széchenyi de Sárvár-felsővidék, who was one time Austrian Minister at the Court of Berlin, and countess Alexandra Sztaray-Szirmay et Nagy-Mihály. His father owned thousands of acres divided into scores of farms and forest preserves on which the Széchenyis grew wheat, Turkish pepper, tobacco, hemp, and grapes. He was the youngest of four brothers.
All of the brothers were Reserve Lieutenants in the Imperial Hussars as well as Chamberlains at the Court.
Count László Széchenyi was the inventor of the submarine wireless telegraphy, for sending and receiving sound-wave vibrations underwater, and started the Submarine Wireless Company to produce it.
By 1908, Count László Széchenyi de Sárvár-felsővidék was the most prominent member of his family, which was quite numerous. He possessed two great estates in Hungary, Oermezo Castle, which is about three hundred years old and 4,000 acres, in the County of Templen, and Lagoshara Pusbla, a Summer place, about 4,300 acres, in the County of Somogy. The Count, besides, also owned a one-story, ten room house at 14 Eotvoss-street in Budapest.
Shortly before the War, Count László Széchenyi de Sárvár-felsővidék tried to become a financial Napoléon in Hungary and met his Waterloo very quickly. He is said to have lost $4,000,000 which is supposed to have come largely from his wife. He was a member of the ‘Magnates Group’ which speculated in mines, railroads and other enterprises. They failed to calculate the impact of the World War, and suffered a complete smash as a result of the fall in value of their shares.
Count László Széchenyi presented his credentials as Hungary’s first Minister to the United States on January 11, 1922. He served until March 31, 1933. He was transferred to the same post at the Court of Saint James in England in 1933.
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Wikipedia