Charles Baross

* Deménd, 28 February 1865 – † Budapest, 3 January 1905 / agricultural politician, economic writer ; ; He lived in this village only until he was one year old, after his parents moved to Pilisszántó in 1866. He completed his secondary school studies in Nagyszombat and Esztergom. In 1882–1884 he was a student at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Economics in Magyaróvár. After that, he worked as an agricultural economist on various farms as an assistant manager. From 1888 he was an employee of the National Hungarian Economic Association (OMGE), and was soon elected secretary of the association. Between 1889–1893 he was the editor of Borászati Lapok. He soon founded several newspapers. He started and led the official newspaper of OMGE, Köztelek, from 1891. In 1893, he launched an evening daily newspaper called Hazánk. In 1894, he launched the agrarian policy paper Független Újság. As the department head of the Hungarian Agricultural and Interest Bank, he dealt with loans to help renovate vineyards between 1896 and 1900. He played an important role in eliminating the consequences of the phylloxera epidemic in Hungary and in boosting grape growing. He initiated the establishment of cellar cooperatives and vigorously took action against wine counterfeiters in his papers. He participated in the international viticulture and winemaking congress held in Paris in 1900 with his brother-in-law, Jenő Drucker, and on this occasion they also made a professional tour of the French wine regions. Károly Baross was one of the founders of the National Association of Hungarian Winegrowers in 1901 and vice-president until 1905. In 1901 he was also elected as a member of parliament, but due to his deteriorating health he resigned in 1903. He was treated in a mental hospital from 1902 onwards, but his condition did not improve and he died at the age of barely 40. ; ; His main works: ; The Reconstruction of Our Grapes, 1890, ; The Past and Present of Hungarian Viticulture, 1896, ; The Politics of Viticulture, 1900, ; The Viticulture of France (with Jenő Drucker), 1901.