A small but all the more interesting group of university students in the first half of the twentieth century were those Hungarian students who did not choose university studies in order to achieve social advancement, expected financial benefits or prestige. It is probably almost impossible to fully map out the reasons, but we will attempt to do so in the case of Erzsébet Herzog, using the available mosaic of data. Born into a family of barons, she carried out her studies in Switzerland, and then following her graduation from the Faculty of Medicine of the Erzsébet University, she started working in Budapest. Her work is of out- standing importance in terms of professional interest and social responsibility; she is also a unique example of female doctors – specifically of those of aristocratic descent – in Hungary between the two world wars.

Nincs absztrakt.

Only fragments of the private correspondence of Mihály Pekár, professor of medicine and dean of faculty at the Elisabeth University (first in Pozsony/Bratislava, then in Budapest, and finally in Pécs) were acquired in auctions by two archives of Hungary. The author analysed and gave a short summary in his paper how favouritism is reflected in these private letters: who and why used one’s influence. In addition, fourteen selected documents are also published in full length to illustrate those cases.

Nincs absztrakt.

Nincs absztrakt.

The study contributes further data to the social history of Pécs in the second half of the 19th century through school matriculae. After describing the society of the town, first year students are analysed in four timescales: 1851/52, 1871/72, 1891/92 and 1910/11. The students' place of birth, religion, and the occupation of the father and are noted and examined. The paper shows how these figures changed, what causes and effects could be traced and deals with the social mobility and the Jewish enrolment patterns.