[On the centenary of József Török's death (1813-1894) a physician and scientist]

The author investigates the career of József Török (1813-1894), who was a physician, surgeon, and a lecturer in chemistry and sciences at the College of the Reformed Church at Debrecen. Török's reputation was established, nevertheless, by his famous work, the First class medical waters and spas of the two Hungarian homelands. On their natural, chemical and therapeutical power, which he finished in 1847. Török, born in a family of a reformed clergyman, was educated in Debrecen, studied medicine at the university of Pest and spent two years at the universities of Paris, Berlin and Vienna. At Paris he attended the courses of Eluard Chassaignac, at Berlin those of Schönlein and Dieffenbach and at Vienna Rokitansky, Skoda and Hebre were his professors. Though returning to Hungary he practiced as a private doctor and later lectured in dietetics, he was unable--probably owing to his Calvinist faith--to receive a full time post at the university and in 1847 accepted the invitation of the College of Debrecen to lecture in chemistry, botany and mineralogy. He took part as a head physician in legal forensic medicine, and public health. The author emphasizes that Török not only introduced chemistry into secondary school education of human anthropology but created a new curriculum of science for secondary schools as well. His enterprise was a very important innovation in Hungarian public school education. His other main contribution was his famous book on the mineral waters of Hungary, which was awarded by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1847. This balneological work detailed the spas of 19th century Hungary, and--in its second edition in 1859--gave an elaborated bibliography for such books published between 1631-1856. The work was a real breakthrough in Hungarian balneology. The author also investigates the interests of Török in the flora and fauna of the surrounding area of Debrecen, and his geological publications as well.