Joseph Horvath

* Lukácsháza, 1 February 1794 – † Bát, 13 May 1849 / doctor, writer ; ; He lost his father at the age of ten, and then began his elementary and secondary school studies in Kőszeg. In 1811 he became a member of the Piarist order, and after two years of probation he taught at the Tata Gymnasium in the 1813/14 academic year. However, at that time he unexpectedly left the order and became a medical student at the University of Pest. In addition to his studies, he also dealt with fiction and translated German medical works into Hungarian. In 1822, he completed his medical studies by defending his dissertation on ear inflammation and its consequences, and in 1824 he became a city doctor in Bakabánya. In 1829 he moved to Bát and became the chief physician of Bát district and the deputy chief physician of Hont county. He combined his healing work with health education and public education. He placed emphasis on prevention and a healthy lifestyle, but he also became known as one of the popularizers of homeopathy in Hungary. As a translator, he did a lot for the development of Hungarian medical terminology, collecting medical terms and regional terms. In 1830, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences elected him a member (as the first rural doctor) and later commissioned him to translate the 37-volume work of Pliny the Elder entitled Naturalis historiae, but due to his early death, he only reached volume 20. The manuscript was later lost. ; His son, Antal József Horváth (Bakabánya, 1824/25? – Pest13, May 1, 1849) also chose a medical career, but fell victim to cholera as a military doctor in the 1848/49 War of Independence.