William Sigismund

* Bratislava, 14 May 1821 – † Budapest, 21 December 1888 / mining engineer, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (1868) ; ; He was the younger brother of Adolf Zsigmondy and the uncle of Richárd Zsigmondy. He completed his college studies at the Mining and Forestry Academy in Bánya Selmec in 1842. In 1843 he entered the state service. In 1846 he was a mining engineer of the Patented Austrian State Railway Company, and there, together with József Szlávy (Zsitvaújfalu), during the War of Independence, the Resica iron and steel works were completely converted to the production of weapons and ammunition necessary for arming the army. For this reason, he suffered imprisonment in the castle of Olmütz, from which he was released in 1850. In 1860 he moved to the capital to pursue a private engineering practice. He made his name known primarily for his successful artesian and thermal water well drillings. He carried out these as a “drilling contractor”. He drilled the first one in Harkány in 1865, and in 1866–1867 he led the drillings in Margitsziget, then Lipik and Alcsút. In 1868 he began drilling the well in Városliget, and in 1876 he handed over the further work to his nephew, Béla Zsigmondy. The well, completed in nearly 10 years, was 970.58 m deep and supplied thermal water at 74 C°. With the drillings in Petrozsény, completed in 1879, he discovered rich coal deposits. He reported on the geological and hydrological lessons of his drillings in valuable studies in the Geological Gazette, the Natural Sciences Gazette and the Mining and Metallurgical Journals. He was a pioneer of geothermal (thermal energy) research in Hungary. He also played a role in public life. From 1875 until the end of his life, he was a representative of the Selmecbánya district with a liberal party program. In 1883, mining pensions were regulated mainly due to his efforts. In 1883, he was elected vice-president of the Geological Society. In 1967, the National Hungarian Mining and Metallurgical Association established a Zsigmondy Vilmos commemorative medal. ; ; His main works: ; Mining, with excellent regard to coal mining, 1865, ; My experiences regarding the drilling of artesian fountains (academic chair holder), 1871, ; The artesian fountain on Margaret Island, 1873, ; The artesian well in the City Park in Budapest, 1878.