Besse John Charles

* Ógyalla, August 31, 1765 – † Marseille, June 1841 / traveler, geographical writer ; ; He was the scion of a noble family. According to his autobiography, “his irresistible inclination for geographical knowledge” prompted him to travel the world. In 1791, he visited Germany, the Netherlands, England and France, in 1795 he participated in the Dutch campaigns as adjutant of a hussar regiment alongside the Duke of York, and in 1797 he fought in the army of the King of Naples. Between 1802 and 1810, he worked as the secretary of the French governor and as a newspaper editor on the island of Mauritius. He then moved to Paris, where he studied Persian and Turkish, met the greatest geographer of the time, Humboldt, and here he also made friends with János Batsányi. His interest in the homeland of the Hungarians and Hungarian linguistics was aroused by Pál Beregszászi's book published in Leipzig in 1796. In 1829, he set off for the Caucasus, joining an expedition in which scientists from the Saint Petersburg Academy also participated and which was led by a Russian general. Besse toured the Crimean Peninsula and published his experiences of his journey in the Scientific Collection. He lived in Hungary between 1824 and 1829. Due to the lack of interest in Hungary, i.e. the lack of subscribers, he was unable to publish his travelogues in book form, and finally, with great difficulty, he published them in French in Paris. ; He also published a Turkish grammar and a Turkish-French-Hungarian dictionary in French. ; He collected a lot of valuable data on the landscapes, settlements, customs and language of the Caucasus, its peoples – the Kalmyks, Tatars, Kabardians, Abkhazians and Circassians. However, his theory that five Caucasian tribes could be considered descendants of the Hungarians was later not confirmed by science. Besse spent a total of 44 years abroad. Due to his extensive education, knowledge of languages (he spoke 13 languages), good observation skills and restless curiosity, he collected a lot of valuable information, but his activities were lost to interest. His unpublished four-volume biography and travelogue was lost after his death. His last letters home were dated from Marseille in June 1841: he asked for financial assistance for his return home. The exact circumstances of his death are unknown. In 1829–1830, he sent five reports to Archduke Palatine Joseph about his trip to the Caucasus. ; ; His main works: ; Abrégé de la grammaire turque, et un petit vocabulaire en francais, turc et hongrois, 1829, ; Voyage en Crimée, au Cavcase, en Georgie, en Arménie, en Asie Mineure et a Constantinople, en 1829. et 1830., ; pour servir a l'histoire de Hongrie, 1838.