József Kemény

Count József Kemény de Magyargyerőmonostor (; 11 September 1795 – 12 September 1855) was a Hungarian historian, archaeologist and art collector, and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Imperial Academy of Vienna, and the Academy of Paris.

Biography Kemény was born in Gerend in the Principality of Transylvania, a constituent land of the Habsburg monarchy (today part of Luna, Romania) in 1795. He belonged to the branch of the Kemény family that descended from John Kemény, the Prince of Transylvania and the autobiographer. His father was Baron Farkas Kemény, his mother was Countess Teréz Batthyány, sister of the learned Transylvanian bishop Ignác Batthyány. His only sister was Polyxena, she was five years younger than him.

His primary school education continued under the care of his tutor, Ignác Fekete. At the age of ten he entered the grammar school of the Piarists in Kolozsvár (today Cluj-Napoca, Romania) and in 1807, after completing the grammar second class, he remained the first of 44 pupils among the 34 students for a whole year. His eccentric father was raised to the rank of count on 12 August 1808.

His father's strictness eased somewhat and in 1826 he was allowed to return to Transylvania with his wife and son. He lived for nearly two years in the Altorja (today Turia, Romania) mansion of Baron Lázár Apor until he was reconciled with his father.

He was among the first to work on economic history. He collected the relics of the trade and industry of Transylvania and wrote its history in 1833. He was a pioneer in the protection of Hungarian monuments. His work, apart from the initial "joke" forgery scandal, is both authentic and careful, which is why he has been elected a member of many scientific societies. For his merits, he was elected a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1831, followed by membership of the Imperial Academy of Vienna and then of the Academy of Paris, among a number of associations at home and abroad. His health was undermined by unremitting work and he died at his castle in Gerend.