Ivanka Imre

* Felsőszemeréd, December 9, 1818 – † Máriabesnyő, July 27, 1896 / colonel, historian, politician; ; He studied in Sopron and then at the Tull Military Academy (his fellow students were Artúr Görgei and Lajos Kazinczy). He then served in Germany and the Czech Republic. In May 1848, at the invitation of Prime Minister Lajos Batthány, he volunteered for the newly formed National Guard and, as the Prime Minister’s secretary, he contributed to the organization of the National Guard. Within a few months, he was promoted from captain to colonel. In the fall of 1848, he was a member of the negotiating delegation that wanted to negotiate with Windisch-Grätz, but the Austrian general did not receive them. On his way back, Croatian General Jellasics, violating martial law, arrested him and he was held captive in Königgrätz until 1850. He became involved in Hungarian public life from 1861, and was a member of parliament without interruption from 1865 to 1895. In 1878–1891, he was the CEO of the Northeastern Railway Company. He was one of the founders of the Hungarian Red Cross, the Danube Steamship Company and the National Defence Association. He was the Grand Master of the Hungarian Freemasons. He compiled his memories of the War of Independence in several volumes. A memorial plaque was unveiled in his honor at the school built on the site of the former Ivánka mansion in his native village. ; ; His main works: ; The Hungarian Army as Imagined, 1861, ; Steamboat navigation on the Hungarian Danube for information, 1862, ; My four-month service in the Hungarian army from the end of June to the end of October 1848, 1881, ; On the popular uprising, 1884.