Martin György Kovachich

* Nagysenkőc, November 9, 1744 – † Buda, December 1, 1821 / legal historian, archivist, source researcher ; ; After completing his studies at the Pest gymnasium, he studied philosophy at the University of Nagyszombat. In 1765, he traveled to Italy for studies. Upon returning home, he studied law and theology, and then in 1772, he studied political science and finance at the University of Vienna. From 1774, he became a clerk at the University Library, later second keeper. In 1784, he was appointed registrar at the royal treasury. Between 1786 and 1787, he was the editor of the first Hungarian scientific weekly newspaper, Merkur von Ungarn, which spoke in the spirit of the Enlightenment. Between 1810 and 1815, he visited the country's most important state, city and private archives, primarily collecting source material on legal history. He took his almost infant son, Miklós József Kovachich (Tata, February 15, 1798 – Vienna, November 27, 1878), with him on the trip, who later followed him in his career. His wife was Johanna Hajóssy, upon whose death Mihály Vitkovics and Mihály Bozóky wrote a dirge. With his work, he laid the foundation for source research on Hungarian state and legal history. He also dealt with the theory of source publication and the institutionalization of historical research, and the founding of a scholarly society. ; ; His main works: ; Institutum diplomatico-hungaricum, 1790, ; Institutio grammato-phylacii, 1792, ; Series chronologica diariorum, 1797, ; Scriptores rerum hungaricorum minores I-II., 1798, ; Supplementum ad Vestigia Comitiorum...I–III., 1798–1801, ; Sammlung kleiner, noch ungedruckter Stücke, 1805, ; Indices reales historici i decreta, 1806, ; Planum towards a perfect Hungarian bibliography and Dictionary (with Miklós József Kovachich), 1814, ; Codex juris decretalis ecclesieae hungaricae I-II., 1815, ; Astraea complectens ad historiam legislationis et jurisprudentiam hungaricam I-II. (with Miklós József Kovachich), 1823.