- Gusztáv Batthyány
Gusztáv, 5th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann (December 8, 1803 – April 25, 1883) was a Hungarian nobleman who bred horses in
England where he was commonly known as "Count Batthyány".Batthyány was the son of Count Anton Batthyány de Német-Ujvár and of his wife, Countess Maria Anna Festetics de Tolna. His family set was Német-Ujvár in western Hungary (now in Austria). The
Batthyány family can trace its roots to the founding of Hungary in 896 AD byÁrpád to one of seven princes called Urs.As a young man Batthyány emigrated to England where he became well known as an owner and breeder of
Thoroughbred racehorses. In 1843 he estasblished his own stud operation and in 1859 was elected to theJockey Club . He hired trainer John Dawson to condition his horses at Newmarket. In 1875 his horseGalopin won theEpsom Derby and went on to be the Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1888, 1889 and 1898. Galopin was the damsire of Bayardo and of the 1886 U.K. Triple Crown Champion, Flying Fox.Batthyány was involved in the Magyar national movement as a member of the constitutional Hungarian Ministry of 1848. In 1851 he signed a letter together with Count
Kázmér Batthyány ,Bertalan Szemere , and PrincePaul Esterházy to his old friends, the Duke of Wellington and Lord Melbourne accusingLajos Kossuth of high treason and terrorism. ["Prince Esterházy and the Hungarian Government of 1848", "The Times" (November 13, 1851).] This letter exposed the divisions in the Magyar national movement to English supporters. [ [http://www.ssees.ac.uk/confhung/eibner.pdf Conference on British-Hungarian Relations since 1848 (PDF)] ]In 1838 Batthyány donated his entire library including the
Rohonc Codex to theHungarian Academy of Sciences .In 1870 Batthyány's second cousin Philipp, 4th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann died without children. Batthyány succeeded as the 5th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann.
Batthyány died in 1883 after suffering a
heart attack while attending a luncheon at the Jockey Club. His heirs sold off his bloodstock at theTattersalls July Sale at Newmarket.Marriage and family
On December 14 1828 Batthyány married
Freiin Wilhelmine von Ahrenfeld. They had two sons:
*Edmund, 6th Prince Batthyány-Strattmann (20 November 1826 - 29 October 1914)
*Count Gustav Batthyány (3 September 1828 - 27 August 1906)Notes
References
*"Obituary", "The Times" (April 26, 1883), 6.
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