Miklós Kretzoi

Miklós Kretzoi (9 February 1907 – 15 March 2005) was a Hungarian geologist, paleontologist and paleoanthropologist[1][2] and Széchenyi Prize winner.[3]

Commemorative plaque in Budapest

Kretzoi studied Arts and natural sciences at the then Pázmány Péter University, Budapest from 1925 to 1929.[1] While still a student, he worked as a volunteer at the Geological Institute of Hungary.[1]

In 1930 he graduated from the University of Pécs with a PhD in Palaeontology, Geology and Geography.[3] In 1933 he commenced work with the "Hungarian-American Oil Inc" as a geologist and geophysicist. He remained at Hungarian-American Oil until the outbreak of the Second World War.[1] Kretzoi moved to the National Museum of Hungary where he was curator of the Mineralogy and Paleontology departments until he began work at the Geological Institute of Hungary in 1950.[1] Kretzoi was the director of the Geological Institute of Hungary from 1956 to 1958.[4] From the mid-1960s he led the "digs" at Rudabánya where a number of Anthropoid fossil remains were discovered.[1][2]

The genus Kretzoiarctos was named after Miklós Kretzoi.[5] Its type species Kretzoiarctos beatrix was previously classified as a member of Agriarctos, and Agriarctos was described by Kretzoi.[6]