Dr. Kornel Lanczos, Renowned Physicist, Dead at Age 81

Hungarian-born Dr. Kornel Lanczos, the world renowned physicist and co-worker of the late Albert Einstein, is dead at the age of 81. Following his wishes. Dr. Lanczos was buried in the Budapest Jewish cemetery. Dr. Lanczos was a brilliant theoretical physicist whose work took him to Germany, the United States and Ireland. He worked with Einstein both in Germany and later on in the United States.

Late in his life. Dr. Lanczos returned to his homeland where he spent his last years. Recalling the importance of Judaism in his life, Dr. Lanczos said shortly before his death: “The old Jewish tradition lives with me. The study of the holy script and the philosophy of the Jewish religion is an integral part of my life and has been a guiding influence as I pursued my scientific research. Although I enjoyed much success in my work, the prevailing wish throughout my life has been to be a faithful Jew.”

Representatives of the Hungarian Jewish community attended the funeral services for Dr. Lanczos. Among them were Sandor Scheiber, president of the Budapest Theological Seminary, and Professor Dezso Kereszturi of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The late physicist’s son Elmar, came in from Dublin to deliver a eulogy to his father. He recalled these words of his father towards the end of his life: “I was a professor in the United States, a good friend of the great Einstein and a professor in Dublin, but I want to rest in a simple Jewish cemetery in Hungary.”