Laszlo Magyar, a Hungarian traveller, born in Szabadka in 1817, died in south Africa, Nov. 6, 1864. He attended the naval school at Fiume, entered the Brazilian navy in 1844, and took part in the war between Rosas and Uruguay. He went in 1847 to the Portuguese settlements on the W. coast of Africa, and became commander of the fleet of the negro ruler of Calabar. Having familiarized himself with several negro languages, he left Sao Felipe de Benguela, Jan. 15, 1849, and crossed the table land of Nano to a comparatively low country, Bihe, where he married the daughter of a chief. On Feb. 20, 1850, he left his new home with his wife and nearly 300 armed men, crossed the river Kokema, and explored the interior, reaching in 1851 the Cazembe river. He went westward as far as the Liba river, and thence northward to the city of Matiamvo, testing his observations by travelling over the same region in different directions. The Portuguese government promoted him to a high civil office at Sao Paulo de Loanda,with the rank of major.

The narrative of his travels from 1849 to 1857 was sent to Pesth; the first volume was published in 1859 at the expense of the Hungarian academy, and was translated into German by J. Hunfalvv.