Vilmos Zsigmondy, versatile researcher of the Carpathian Basin's geological structure and mineral resources

Abstract

Research on the artesian and thermal water wells drilled by Vilmos Zsigmondy is widely known. Fewer people know, however, that Zsigmondy was a pioneer in the history of mining in Hungary, including coal mining, and created a range of durable technical solutions. He was the first to drill wells to investigate the geological structure of the Carpathian Basin and the first to drill for oil in Hungary. He was the first in Hungary to carry out core drilling, as he called it, 'cylinder drilling', at the Városliget well. In the current paper, I present Zsigmondy's aforementioned activities as a coal-oil and geological explorer.