Henrik Lévay

Baron Henrik Lévay de Kistelek (kisteleki báró Lévay Henrik; Jánoshalma, 16 April 1826 – Budapest, 15 December 1901) was a Hungarian businessman. By establishing the First Hungarian General Insurance Company (Első Magyar Általános Biztosító Társaság) in 1857, he introduced the insurance industry in Hungary (then part of the Austrian Empire).

Early life
The second son of József Lévay (d. 1862) and Mária Herczel (d. 1858), Henrik was born into a Jewish family in Jánoshalma in the southern part of the Kingdom of Hungary. He took part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and fought as a lieutenant in the revolutionary Hungarian Defence Forces. After the fall of the revolution, he was employed by the Riunione Adriatice insurance company. He married Róza Sárkány on 5 September 1852.

Businessman
Lévay established the First Hungarian General Insurance Company, founding the insurance industry in Hungary in 1857. King Franz Joseph I ((r. 1848 – 1916)) awarded him with nobility on 25 August 1868. As many other ennobled Jews, he converted to Christianity. He was made a baron on 22 April 1897. He died childless in Budapest on 15 December 1901. Five days later he was buried in Táplány (now in Töltéstava).