Petőfi Sándor

Sándor Petőfi (1823–1849) was a Hungarian poet and revolutionary, the national poet of Hungary. Born in Kiskőrös, he became famous in his early twenties with poems in a fresh, folk-song style, and his narrative poem János vitéz (1845) is still read by every Hungarian schoolchild.

His “Nemzeti dal” (National Song) was recited on 15 March 1848, the first day of the Hungarian revolution. His love poems to his wife Júlia Szendrey, such as “Szeptember végén”, are among the finest in the language. He was killed at the Battle of Segesvár in 1849, aged 26.