Batthyány

Prominent Hungarian family that includes some of the most illustrious figures in the country's history. Its most famous member was the politician Count Louis (or Lajos) Batthyány (1806-49), one of the leaders of the independence movement that came to power in Hungary during the revolutions of 1848. A moderate nationalist, he was prime minister of Hungary March-September 1848, but after the Austrians and Russians suppressed the revolution, he was arrested and executed on 6 October 1849.

The Batthyány family traces its descent back to the early 14th century. In 1526 Francis Batthyány distinguished himself in the Battle of Mohács, and Balthazar Batthyány in the Turkish wars of the same century. Count Casimir Batthyány (1806-54) was minister of foreign affairs during the revolution; he fled into exile with the revolutionary Lajos Kossuth in 1849.