Szentgáli Antal, egy elfeledett világutazó építőmérnök pályaképe

Abstract

: Antal Szentgáli (1868-1945), civil engineer, globetrotter, writer, member of several Hungarian professional and cultural organisations, was widely known during his lifetime, but his name and merits have nowadays been almost completely forgotten. At the beginning of his engineering career, Szentgáli was engaged in river regulation and railway construction, and in 1901, he travelled abroad to take part in the construction of the China-Eastern Railway, following his fellow engineer and friend Charles Gubanyi. After building an important railway tunnel with his compatriot in Manchuria, he settled in Vladivostok, and lived and worked in the Pacific port city of Imperial Russia for nearly a decade. During this time he travelled to many parts of Eastern Siberia, China, Japan and Korea. He returned to Hungary in 1913 but continued to be active professionally after his return home. In this paper, the author attempts to give the first detailed account of Szentgáli's life and work, which is also related to the subjects of geodesy and cartography.