Ferenc Toldy was a German-Hungarian literary critic.

As a small boy he lived with his German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 parents, Franz Schedel and Josepha Thalherr, in Buda. He was sent to school in Cegléd

Cegléd

Cegléd is a city in Pest county, Hungary, approximately southeast of the Hungarian capital, Budapest.-Name:There are discussions going on about the origin of the name of the town...

. He studied medicine and practised as a doctor in Pest

Pest (city)

Pest is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two thirds of the city's territory. It is divided from Buda, the other part of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable parts are the Inner City, including the Hungarian Parliament, Heroes' Square and...

, but his interest in literature absorbed his attention, and he published a handbook on Hungarian poetry in 1828. He travelled to Berlin, London, and Paris, returning in 1830. From 1833 to 1844 he was professor of dietetics at Pest University, and in 1836 helped found the Kisfaludy Society

Kisfaludy Society

The Kisfaludy Society was a literary society in Pest, founded in 1836 and named after Károly Kisfaludy, who had died in 1830. It held monthly meetings and was a major force in Hungarian literary life, giving prizes, funding the collection of folk songs, and sponsoring the publication of works like...

. He changed his name to Toldy in 1846. He had used it as a pseudonym from the beginning of his career.

He had already joined the Hungarian Academy, becoming its Secretary in 1835. He remained in this role until 1861, when he was appointed Professor of Hungarian Literature. His lastingly influential works were published in the 1850s and 1860s.

External links

• Handbuch der ungrischen Poësie. Pest, 1828. Google Books
• Toldy Ferenc Gimnázium -- high school in Budapest named after him
• Ceglédi Toldy Ferenc Kórház Honlapja -- hospital in Cegléd