Johannes Banfi Hunyades facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Johannes Banfi Hunyades
János Bánfihunyadi
Engraved portrait (extract) of Banfi Hunyades, 1644. Copied by W. Hollar from a lost original of Gowy.
Born	1576 Rivulus Dominarum, Hungary
Died	28 August 1646 (aged 70) Amsterdam, Netherlands
Occupation	Alchemist, chemist, metallurgist
Spouse(s)	Dorothy Colton ​ ​ (m. 1619)​
Children	4; including Johannes Banfi Hunyades the Younger, Elisabeth Benson (née Banfi Hunyades)

János Bánfihunyadi (Hungarian: Bánfihunyadi János; 1576 – 28 August 1646), also known as Johannes Banfi Hunyades, was a Hungarian alchemist, chemist, and metallurgist. He moved to England in 1608. He became well-known among scientists in England and Hungary. He worked with famous people like alchemist Arthur Dee and scientist Kenelm Digby.

Born in Nagybánya, Hungary in 1576, Banfi Hunyades first trained as a goldsmith. Between 1606 and 1608, he traveled through Europe, including Germany, before arriving in England. In London, he became a successful goldsmith. He visited Hungary several times before settling in England after marrying Dorothy Colton in 1619. They had four children.

Banfi Hunyades stayed in touch with important Hungarian figures. In 1633, the Prince of Transylvania invited him to teach at a new academy. Around the same time, Banfi Hunyades started working at Gresham College in London. He gave lectures and did chemistry experiments with other scientists until at least 1642. He died on August 28, 1646, in Amsterdam, just before a planned trip to Hungary.

Early Life and Travels

Johannes Banfi Hunyades was born in 1576 in Rivulus Dominarum (now Baia Mare, Romania). This area was part of the Kingdom of Hungary at the time. His father, Benedek Bánfihunyadi Mogyoró, was a Hungarian Calvinist priest. Benedek wrote about the Bubonic plague in 1577, which suggests his family had an interest in science.

Records show that Banfi Hunyades owned a vineyard and a wine-pressing house. He learned to be a goldsmith in his hometown. By 1606, he was in Košice (now in Slovakia), a popular place for goldsmiths to travel for work.

He then traveled through Europe. He might have visited the courts of Rudolf II and Maurice of Hesse-Kassel. These courts were important centers for alchemy and science. A notebook of his later mentioned a method for changing metals into gold (called transmutation). He said he learned it from a "famous Bohemian lord." This lord might have been connected to Edward Kelley, another alchemist who worked for Rudolf II. Around 1608, Banfi Hunyades was in Germany, where he bought a Károli Bible.

Life in England

Banfi Hunyades arrived in England in 1608. He became a successful goldsmith in London. He lived outside the City of London, so he didn't join the main Goldsmith's Guild. In 1613, he wrote to his brother in Hungary, telling him about his wealth. He promised to visit and asked his brother to look after his books and tools. He kept strong ties to Hungary, speaking and writing in Hungarian with friends there. In 1617, he gave a German edition of the Hungarian Károli Bible to the Bodleian Library in Oxford. This was a gift before a trip back to Hungary.

In 1619, Banfi Hunyades married Dorothy Colton. This likely made him travel less to Hungary. However, he continued to write to important Hungarian scholars. Some even visited him in London. It's thought that Arthur Dee, son of the famous John Dee, traveled with Banfi Hunyades to Hungary. They were likely looking for antimony, a substance important in alchemy.

In 1633, George I Rákóczi, the Prince of Transylvania, wanted Banfi Hunyades to be a professor. He planned an academy in Kolozsvár (now in Romania). Banfi Hunyades had experience with the English academic system and knew a lot about chemistry. There is no proof he took this job. By 1633, he was working at Gresham College in London.

Work at Gresham College

Around 1633, Banfi Hunyades became an assistant to the scientist Kenelm Digby at Gresham College. They didn't get paid for this work. Digby built a lab under the house of the college's Divinity Professor. There, they did botanical experiments. It's believed that Digby might have sent Banfi Hunyades to Hungary to find antimony.

Hunyades also gave lectures on chemistry. One of his students, John Webster, wrote about a lecture in his book Metallographia (1671). Banfi Hunyades also worked with Jonathan Goddard, a professor of medicine. They recorded an experiment that some historians believe was the first time temperature was measured during distillation. Banfi Hunyades might have worked at the college until 1642. He sometimes called himself a professor, but college records don't show him as one.

Alchemical Pursuits

Banfi Hunyades's work in alchemy focused on mercury. He believed that understanding mercury would reveal the secret of transmutation (changing one metal into another, like lead into gold). He saw mercury as the basic substance of alchemy.

According to William Lilly, a writer, Banfi Hunyades's motto was: "There is, in mercury, whatever wise men seek." This phrase is on all his engraved portraits. One portrait describes an experiment where he used mercury to break down gold and silver. He then turned the resulting substance back into mercury and changed it into a red powder. He was very proud of this experiment.

Some people, like James Granger, criticized his focus on alchemy. They called him a "smoke-dried mercurialist." However, modern scholars argue that his experiments show he was a true chemist.

In 1646, Arthur Dee, who spent his life searching for the philosopher's stone, planned a trip with Banfi Hunyades. They were to meet in Amsterdam and then travel to Hungary to find antimony. Many alchemists believed antimony was a key substance, and the purest form was thought to be in Hungary. This was the only trip with clear evidence of their plans together.

Banfi Hunyades died suddenly on August 28, 1646, at age 70 in Amsterdam. His death stopped his plans to return to Hungary with Dee. He wasn't rich for most of his life, but he died with a good amount of money. His son, Johannes, inherited his possessions. Banfi Hunyades's burial place is unknown.

Johannes Banfi Hunyades and Dorothy had four children. Two of them, Johannes (1621–1696) and Elizabeth (1620–1710), have large memorials in the crypt of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch. His son Johannes became a rich moneylender in London. His grave wrongly claims he was related to the famous Hunyadi family.

Learning About His Life

Johannes Banfi Hunyades didn't publish any books or papers during his lifetime. What we know about him comes from a few notes, letters, and records. It's amazing that scholars have been able to learn so much about a less famous Hungarian alchemist. This shows how many old records and writings still exist.

There are five portraits of Banfi Hunyades from his time. Four are engravings made in 1644 and 1646, based on a painting that is now lost. These engravings show him with a beard, holding a glass vessel he used in his mercury experiments. The portraits include quotes about alchemy, math, and mercury. They also mention his birthplace. The engravings also show scientific tools and alchemical symbols.

The fifth portrait was found in 1929. It's a small silver medallion made in 1645. This medallion shows Hunyades from the side, with a full head of hair and a beard. It has Latin text with his name, birthplace, and age (69).

Around 1977, a Hungarian scholar named George Gomori found a note about a German Bible. This Bible had been sold by the Bodleian Library. It turned out to have an inscription from Banfi Hunyades himself. The inscription, dated 1617, included his initials and birthplace. Another part was a Latin poem and a short Latin note about his life. It said he was a "goldsmith and alchemist" and the son of "Benedick Banfi Huniadinus." A Hungarian inscription said he gave the book to "the Oxford Library, to be remembered forever" on July 15, 1617. This inscription also confirmed he had "lived here in England for 9 years" by 1617, meaning he arrived in 1608.