The foundations for modern Hungarian literature begin with the movement known as the Period of Linguistic Reform, whose leaders were the versatile writer Ferenc Kazinczy (1759–1831) and Ferencz Kölcsey (1790–1838), lyric poet and literary critic. Among the outstanding literary figures was Dániel Berzsenyi (1772–1836) of the Latin School. Károly Kisfaludy (1788–1830) founded the Hungarian national drama. Mihaly Vörösmarty (1800–55), a fine poet, related the Magyar victories under Árpád in his Flight of Zalán. He was followed by Hungary's greatest lyric poet, Sándor Petöfi (1823–49), a national hero who stirred the Magyars in their struggle against the Habsburgs in 1848 with his Arise Hungarians. Another revolutionary hero was Lajos Kossuth (1802–94), orator and political author. János Arany (1817–82), epic poet and translator, influenced future generations, as did Mór Jókai (1825–1904), Hungary's greatest novelist. The outstanding dramatist Imre Madách (1823–64) is known for his Tragedy of Man. Endre Ady (1877–1919) was a harbinger of modern poetry and Western ideas. Lyric poets of the contemporary era include László Nagy (1925–78), János Pilinszky (1921–81), and Ferenc Juhász (b.1928). Gyula Illyés (1902–83), a poet, novelist, and dramatist, was one of the outstanding figures of 20th-century Hungarian literature. Ferenc Molnár (1878–1952) is known for his plays Liliom, The Swan, and The Guardsman. György Lukács (1885–1971) was an outstanding Marxist writer and literary critic. Hungarian-born Arthur Koestler (1905–83), a former radical, was a well-known anti-Communist novelist and writer.
János Fadrusz (1858–1903) and József Somogyi (1916–93) are among Hungary's best-known sculptors. The outstanding Hungarian painter Mihály Munkácsy (1844–1900) is best known for his Christ before Pilate. Victor Vasarely (1908–97), a world-famous painter of "op art," was born in Budapest and settled in France in 1930. Miklós Ybl (1814–91) was a leading architect; and Gyula Halasz (1899–1984), better known as Brassai, was a well-known photographer. The Hungarian-born Joseph Pulitzer (1847–1911) was a noted journalist and publisher in the US. Hungarian musicians include the composers Franz (Ferenc) Liszt (1811–86), Ernst (Ernö) von Dohnányi (1877–1960), Béla Bartók (1881–1945), and Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967), violinists Jeno Hubay (1858–1937) and Joseph Szigeti (1892–1973), and pianists Lili Kraus (1903–86) and Erwin Nyiregyhazi (1903–87). Renowned Hungarian-born conductors who became famous abroad include Fritz Reiner (1888–1963), George Széll (1897–1970), Eugene Ormándy (1899–1985), Antal Doráti (1906–88), and Ferenc Fricsay (1914–63). Miklós Jancsó (b.1921) is a distinguished film director, and Vilmos Zsigmond (b.1930) a noted cinematographer; Béla Lugosi (Blasko, 1882–1956) and Peter Lorre (Laszlo Loewenstein, 1904–64) were famous actors.
Notable scientists include Lóránd Eötvös (1848–1919), inventor of torsion balance; Ányos Jedlik (1800–95), known for his research on dynamos; and the psychoanalyst Sándor Ferenczi (1873–1933). Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (1818–65) pioneered in the use of antiseptic methods in obstetrics. Béla Schick (1877–1967) invented the skin test to determine susceptibility to diphtheria.
Hungarian-born Nobel Prize winners are Róbert Bárány (1876–1936) in 1914, Albert Szent-Györgyi (1893–1986) in 1937, and Georg von Békésy (1899–1972) in 1961 in physiology or medicine, Georg de Hevesy (1885–1966) in 1944 in chemistry, and Dénés Gábor (1900–79) in 1971 for physics. Budapest-born scientists who contributed to atomic research in the US were Leó Szilárd (1898–1964), Eugene Paul Wigner (1902–95), John von Neumann (1903–57), and Edward Teller (b.1908). Theodore van Karman (Todor Kármán, 1881–1963) is the father of aerodynamics.
Imre Nagy (1895?–1958) served as prime minister from 1953 to 1955, but was removed from office because of his criticism of Soviet policy; the uprising of October 1956 briefly brought Nagy back to the premiership. Arrested after the Soviet military intervention, Nagy was tried and executed in 1958. János Kádár (1912–89), first secretary of the HSWP since 1956, initially aligned himself with Nagy but subsequently headed the government established after Soviet troops rolled in. Kádár, who held the premiership from late 1956 to 1958 and again from 1961 to 1965, was the preeminent political leader in Hungary until his removal in May 1988. Gyula Horn (b.1932), a former communist, was named prime minister in 1994.