István Halis, namesake of the Halis István Municipal Library of Nagykanizsa, was an excellent city politician and local historian, who recorded many historical events of Nagykanizsa in historical and literary works, partly using the documents of the city archive that still existed in his time and which he knew personally. We created our website content in 2005, on the 150th anniversary of his birth, as part of the Halis memorial year, and we continue to expand it.
István Halis
1855-1927
Short biography: István Halis was born in Nagykanizsa on 21 August 1855. His parents were landowner Ferenc Halis and Julianna Andri. He attended secondary school in Nagykanizsa and Pécs, and studied law in Budapest. After finishing his studies, he returned to his hometown. He held various municipal offices: in 1890 he was elected orphan’s court assessor, he served for a long time as city councillor, and later as deputy mayor. He resigned from this latter office in October 1914. In 1913, upon the foundation of the city library and museum, he was appointed librarian and museum curator. As an enthusiastic researcher of the city’s history, he collected old documents and also dealt with archaeology. He wrote historical works, short stories, romantic novels, and various articles in national newspapers and journals. He died in Nagykanizsa on 23 February 1927.
Main works: Colorful Mosaic from the History of Nagykanizsa. Nagykanizsa, 1893.; ZÉM. (Edited together with Mór Hoffmann, also contributed as an author.); The Franciscan Monastery of Kanizsa. Nagykanizsa, 1899.; Chronicle of Zala I-V. Nagykanizsa, 1915-1917.; It is Dawn. Short Stories. Nagykanizsa, 1902.; In the Enemy’s Hands (play). Nagykanizsa, 1913.; Carbuncle (novel). Nagykanizsa, 1913.; Chronicle of the Babócsai Family. Nagykanizsa, 1923.
Literature: Barbarits; Gulyás; Szinnyei; MÉL 1. p. 633.; ZÉM.;
Portrait: Barbarits p. 366.; Czobor. 1912. p. 187.
Source: Zalai Biographical Lexicon; Zalavármegye Yearbook for the Millennium. Nagykanizsa, József Wajdits Jr. Printing, 1986. p. 24
For more details about his life and work, readers may consult the study by Mária Illés available here.
His biography
- in Wikipedia
- in the Hungarian Biographical Lexicon
- in the Database of the Ferenc Deák County and City Library
