Adolf Károly Divald de Berencs

Forester, a graduate of the Academy of Selmecbanya (Banska Stiavnica) in 1850. Participant of the Hungarian anti-Habsburg freedom fight in 1848/9 (artillery lieutenant). His first employment was at the Coburg dominium around Muraszombat (Murska Sobota, Slovenia), then he worked for a State office at Zarnovice (Beszterce/Banska Bystrica area), and served on the estate of count Eltz around Vukovar (mid-1860’s). Following the Compromise (1867), he obtained a ministerial counsellor position at the Ministry of Finance (he was in charge of the forestry matters until 1872). In retirement, he headed a forestry share-company located in South-Hungary that drew criticism (he was also a MP for Gomor County). Therefore he resigned and continued as forester counsellor at the Esterhazy estates in Kismarton (Eisenstadt) where he became finally the estate manager until 1889. He moved to Pozsony (Bratislava) to final retirement. His achievements in modernizing the profession e.g. by re-organising the services, co-founding and editing the Forestry Letters from 1862, co-founding the Hungarian Association of Forestry (1866) developing the Hungarian terminology by co-authoring a bi-lingual dictionary of forestry in 1868, working on the development of the 1879 Forestry Bill, were recognised by the Hung. Acad. Sci.(member already from 1864) and also by the Vienna Court which raised him to nobility (1870).