Boundless history: 1841 - The Hungarian Society of Natural Sciences is founded on the initiative of physician and academician Pál Bugát

Pál Bugát (1793–1865), a physician and university professor who served as a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences from 1835 and was one of the pioneers of Hungarian medical terminology, enriched 19th-century Hungarian scientific life through numerous scientific and public initiatives. He played a particularly important role in the founding of the Royal Hungarian Society of Natural Sciences (Királyi Magyar Természettudományi Társulat), which made a fundamental contribution to the organisation of the natural sciences in Hungary and to the advancement of scientific communication.

The idea of establishing a society to bring together those engaged in the natural sciences in Hungary, together with regular scientific meetings, was first proposed in 1840 by Ferenc Bene Jr, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Pest, in the journal Orvosi Tár. This idea took shape a year later, in May 1841, at the first meeting of the Hungarian Travelling Assemblies of Physicians and Natural Scientists (1841–1933) in Pest. On the day before the inaugural meeting of the Society that organised these travelling assemblies, Bugát also proposed the establishment of an independent society devoted to the natural sciences, an initiative that immediately attracted the support of 134 fellow scholars. The Society’s inaugural meeting was eventually held on 13 June 1841, chaired by Ágoston Kubinyi, an honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Director of the Hungarian National Museum. Bugát became the society’s president, Ágoston Kubinyi its vice president, and Péter Vajda, a poet and full member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, was elected as the first secretary.

The Society’s objectives, as set forth in its bylaws, were the promotion of the natural sciences, advancing knowledge of Hungary’s natural environment, and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. It operated as an academy-style institution: membership was by nomination, and newly elected members were required to deliver an inaugural lecture. The society was organised into six sections (botany, zoology, physiology, physics, mineralogy and chemistry). The Society was initially a private association. It received official recognition from the Hungarian Council of Lieutenancy in 1843 under the patronage of Archduke Stephen, who later became Palatine of Hungary. It was at this time that it adopted the name Royal Hungarian Society of Natural Sciences.

The Society’s activities were hampered by numerous circumstances. In 1848–1849, during the Hungarian War of Independence, its activities were suspended, as the political situation significantly impeded scholarly work. It was only in the 1850s that the Society resumed its activities under the leadership of Pál Szőnyi, an educator and corresponding member of the Academy. By this time, Bugát had withdrawn from public life and no longer held office within the Society during the final years of his life.

By the second half of the 19th century, the Society had gradually modernised and, in addition to disseminating scientific knowledge, increasingly supported scientific research. A prominent figure in this development was the physicist Kálmán Szily, later Secretary General of the Academy of Sciences (1899–1905). Természettudományi Közlöny (Journal of Natural Sciences), launched in 1869 with Szily’s support, brought the Society significant recognition. By the turn of the twentieth century, membership had increased significantly, and in addition to publishing the journal, the Society also launched its own book series. Among the works published in Hungarian translation were those of English naturalist Charles Darwin, an external member of the Academy. In addition to its support for scientific research, the Society devoted considerable attention to the popularisation of science. Its lectures were published in collected volumes, and in 1910 it launched the Popular Natural Science Library (Népszerű Természettudományi Könyvtár) series.

The Society operated continuously until it was dissolved in 1953. It was subsequently replaced, following the Soviet model, by the Society for the Dissemination of Social and Scientific Knowledge, which fulfilled a broadly similar role. Recognised as the legal successor to the Society founded in 1841, the Hungarian Society of Natural Sciences was re-established in 1990 on the initiative of chemist Mihály Beck, a full member of the Academy, and geologist Viktor Dank, under the leadership of János Szentágothai, former President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1976–1985).