ÚJFALVY DE MEZŐ-KÖVESD, Charles-Eugène (Mezőkövesdi Újfalvy Károly Jenő). Vienna 18.5.1842 — Florence 31.1.1904. Hungarian Traveller and Anthropologist of Central Asia living in France. Born in an aristocratic family, son of cavalry officer Samuel de Újfalvy and Theresa Huszár. Grew up in the family estate in Transylvania. Educated at Military Academy in Vienna. Began his military career in 1861 as Lieutenant in Austro-Hungarian army, quitted for studies at Bonn as early as 1864. After Ph.D. there he migrated in 1866 to France, from 1870 taught German in a school in Versailles. From 1879 Professor of Asian Geography and History at É.L.O.V., retired 1890 because of his worsening eyesight, but remained in Paris until 1896 when he moved to Florence. Married 1868 Clarice-Virginie-Marie Bourdon (1845–1912).
Originally Újfalvy became interested in Asia in the attempt to trace the migrations of Hungarians. In 1876-81 he travelled in Central Asia (1880 including Western Himalayas). In Finno-Ugrian studies he is characterized as a pure dilettant. His three travels (1872 in Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1876-77 in Russian Central Asia and 1881 in the Western Himalayas) were for French government and each time he was accompanied by his wife, who also published two travel books (1880, 1887).
Publications: La langue magyare, son origine, ses rapports avec les langues finnoises et tchoudes. 40 p. Versailles 1871; Étude comparée des langues ougro-finnoises. 20+107 p. P. 1875; Essai de grammaire vêpse ou tchoude du nord. 129 p. P. 1875 (with errors); Principes de phonétique dans la langue finnoise. 83 p. P. 1876; transl. Kalévala épopée finnoise. 1. livr. 56 p. P. 1876 (Runo 1); with R. Hertzberg, Grammaire finnoise. 112 p. P. 1876.
– Les Migrations des peuples et particulièrement celle des Touraniens. 204 p. P. 1873; Mélanges altaïques. 8+201 p. P. 1874; L’ethnographie de l’Asie. 1875; Le Kohistan, le Ferghanah et à Kouldja. 184 p. P. 1878; Le Syr-Daria, le Zérafchâne, le pays des Sept-Rivières et la Sibérie-occidentale. 208 p. P. 1879; Les Kalmouques. 24 p. P. 1883.
– Expédition scientifique française en Russe, en Sibérie et dans le Turkestan. 1-6. P. 1878-80.
– Aus dem westlichen Himalaja. Erlebnisse und Forschungen. 26+330 p. 181 ill. Lp. 1881.
– L’Art des cuivres anciennes au Cachemire et Petit-Thibet, avec 67 dessins. 9+125 p. P. 1883; “L’Art des cuivres anciennes dans l’Himalaya Occidental, avec 43 dessins”, Revue des Arts décoratifs 1884.
– “Le Berceau des Aryas d’après des ouvrages récents”, Bull. de la Soc. d’Anthr. 1884, 31 p.
– “Quelques observations sur les Tadjiks des montagnes appelés aussi Galtchas”, Bull. de la Soc. d’Anthr. 1887, 29 p.; Les Aryens au nord et au sud de l’Hindou-Kouch. 16+488 p. P. 1896.
– Mémoire sur les Huns blancs et sur la déformation de leurs cranes. 46 p. 1898; Iconographie et anthropologie irano-indiennes. P. 1900-02 (all sep. from L’Anthropologie).
– Further books on different subjects, articles in Revue d’Ethnographie, Bull. de la Soc. d’Anthropologie.
Sources: B. Le Calloc’h, “Ch. de U. – pionnier des études finno-ougriennes en France, explorateur de l’Asia centrale”, JSFOu 81, 1987, 7-12 with portrait & *“Ch. de U. (1842-1904), pionnier des études finno-ougriennes en France”, Études finno-ougriennes 20, 1986-87, 5-39; E.N.S[etälä], FUF Anz 4, 1904, 89; Walravens & Stache-Weiske 2015, 236, nt. 702f.; Wikipedia briefly, with photo and two different claims for his birth place (Vienna and Székelykövesd [Cuieşd] in Transylvania [now Pănet in Romania]), better in French and especially *Hungarian version (with only Vienna as birth place).
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