(1817–1882), Hungarian epic poet, born in Nagyszalonta; took part in Hungarian revolution and edited government newspaper for peasants; elected secretary-general of Hungarian academy; main epic work is ‘Toldi' trilogy; received with enthusiasm by a public craving a national literature of quality in a language understood by all; fragmented epic poem, ‘Stephen the Fool' (1850), valuable for rare self-revelation; started Hun trilogy but only finished first part, ‘The Death of King Buda' (1864); the ‘Oszikék', written just before his death, reflect sense of dissatisfaction and solitude.