A pontosság bűvöletében: Eötvös Loránd élete és munkássága = Under the spell of accuracy : The life and work of Loránd Eötvös. Compiled by Éva Orbán, Georgina Schlay ; foreword Krisztina Tóth ; transl. Éva Orbán. Budapest : ELTE Egyetemi Könyvtár és Levéltár, 2023. 257 p., ill. ISBN 978-963-489-592-3 (Catalogue of the exhibition opened on 23 November, 2019. at the University Library of the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE))
The life of Loránd Eötvös was delineated by revolutions: he was born in 1848, just as Pest was being cannonaded. His father, József Eötvös, was anxious for the life of his first child and his wife in a summer cottage in Sváb-hegy. Born during a revolution, the scientist died in 1919, considered by the Soviet Republic as one of its own dead. In this representative volume, we learn about the work, everyday life and entertainment of a tireless and world-famous scientist, an enlightened citizen despite being a baron, a public figure who loved his country, a sportsman who longed for adventure and encouraged his daughters to do the same, who lived his life between these two historical endpoints.
This is the ”catalogue” of the exhibition, which was opened on the occasion of the centenary of the death of Loránd Eötvös (2019) at the University Library of ELTE (Eötvös Loránd University). However, the genre should not be taken too seriously. The volume opens with an introduction by Krisztina Tóth, head of the ELTE Archives, who gives us an insight into the fate of the rich Eötvös legacy and how the exhibition was put together. This is followed by a book full of illustrations, based largely on the material of the exhibition, but supplemented by a series of photographs, works of art, manuscripts and objects that bring the reader closer to this eminent scientist, his era and his scientific and human relationships. Some of the information or short stories linked to the images were also published in social media during the exhibition. All the texts are available in two languages, English and Hungarian.
The nine chapters of the catalogue are supplemented by the list of chapter-introducing photographs and a bibliography. After the sections on the Eötvös family and the studies of Loránd (his most influential teachers, study trips, the Heidelberg years), we move on decade by decade. Focus is on topics such as
- the scientific training of teachers, the base of which – the Baron Eötvös József College – was a key factor in the education of scientists and teachers for a century;
- Eötvös’s experiments in physics, his department, his laboratory and the precision instruments made for experimental and demonstration purposes in Nándor Süss’s workshop;
- Loránd Eötvös’ academic, rectoral and ministerial activities;
- his participation in the Little Academy and in many other associations, international and national societies, and fellow scientists with whom his career was intertwined;
- his field work, measurements with the Eötvös pendulum on the ice of Lake Balaton and in many other places;
- his travel diaries and letters from his excursions during his student years and throughout his life;
- his own stereo photos of his daughters climbing mountains and many other subjects;
- other sports activities: cycling, horse riding, croquet with the girls;
- the impact of his life’s work on posterity.
Unfortunately, the publications supported by NKA grants are not commercially available, so they often remain in the “grey literature” sphere and are not accessible to every interested party. We hope that an electronic version will be produced, which anyone can “browse” with pleasure. In the meantime, look for the book at the University Library (until 31 July 2023 or from 3 September).
Éva Orbán
