Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék (17 November 1739, Gorneşti

Gornesti

Gorneşti is a commune in Mureş County, Romania composed of nine villages:* Gorneşti* Iara de Mureş / Marosjára* Ilioara / Kisillye* Mura Mare / Nagyszederjes* Mura Mică / Kisszederjes...

 - 7 August 1822, Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

), Chancellor

Chancellor

Chancellor is the title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the Cancellarii of Roman courts of justice—ushers who sat at the cancelli or lattice work screens of a basilica or law court, which separated the judge and counsel from the...

 of Transylvania

Transylvania

Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

, famous book collector, founder of the Teleki Library

Teleki Library

The Teleki Library , also known as Teleki-Bolyai Library and Bibliotheca Telekiana, is a historic public library and current museum in Târgu-Mureş, Romania...

 in Târgu Mureş (Marosvásárhely), Transylvania.

Biography

Count Sámuel Teleki de Szék was born in the village of Gernyeszeg, Maros County on 17 November 1739. A crucial time of his years of preparation was the four-year study tour he performed in Europe (1759–1763), the most important stops of which were in Basel, Utrecht, Leiden, and Paris. His impressions triggered the idea to found a library; few people knew more about books at the time.

During his university years, he made up a well-devised plan to build out a book-supplying network. Arriving home he settled on his Sáromberke estate near the village in which he was born. This is where he started his activity toward the reformation of Transylvanian Protestant public education. He funded scientific and cultural activities, provided financial aid for writers, scholars as well as Transylvanian students studying abroad. After twenty years of intensive research, in 1784 he published the most complete edition of Janus Pannonius

Janus Pannonius

Janus Pannonius was a Croatian and Hungarian Latinist, poet, diplomat and Bishop of Pécs.He was the only truly significant poet of the Renaissance in the Kingdom of Hungary and one of the better-known figures of Humanist poetry in Europe. He was born in a small village near the Drava river in a...

’ works.

He entered public service in 1774 as Lord-Lieutenant of Küküllő County and later of Bihar County. In 1787, he was summoned to Vienna and appointed Chancellor-Assistant of Transylvania by Emperor Joseph II. From 1791 until his death, Sámuel Teleki was Chancellor of Transylvania. Teleki's moving to Vienna brought him closer to the European book-trade and diversified his sources of supply. According to the accounts and book orders available, Teleki purchased books from as many as twenty-five European cities. During six decades of systematic collection, Teleki managed to acquire many significant works published since the advent of printing.

Sámuel Teleki died in Vienna, on 7 August 1822. He was buried in Sáromberke (today Ernei

Ernei

Ernei is a commune in Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania, composed of six villages:*Căluşeri / Székelykál*Dumbrăvioara / Sáromberke*Ernei*Icland / Ikland*Săcăreni / Székes*Sângeru de Pădure / Erdőszengyel-History:...

), in the family crypt.