Teacher, historian of civilisation, museum director.
He was born in Berkesz, Szabolcs County. He went to high-school in Ungvár (today Uzsgorod, Ukraine, and to university in Budapest. In 1878 he became a high-school teacher. He worked for years as a private secretary for Baron Béla Radvánszky, then he taught for a year at the teacher’s college in Budapest. In 1883 Berkeszi earned the title of Doctor in Philosophy. In 1884 he was a substitute teacher in the state high-school in Fehértemplom, from here he went to teach in a high-school in Budapest. Berkeszi stayed in the Capital until 1888, when he came to Temesvár (today Timişoara, Romania) to teach in the state secondary high-school for modern languages and sciences, teaching history and geography. From 1911 until 1919 he was the headmaster of the high-school. In 1906 he became the president of the district teacher’s club in Temesvár.
Besides his work as a teacher he also got involved with the activity of the History and Archaeological Museum Society of Southern Hungary. He took an active part in the collecting, processing and making known the archaeological and historical documents and works of reference from Southern Hungary. In 1892 he was the secretary and from 1901 the head-secretary of the Society. He was the editor of the Történelmi és Régészeti Értesítő (Historical and Archaeological Gazette) magazine. In 1901 he was nominated director of the Historical and Archaeological Museum of Southern Hungary, he reorganised the institution, made an inventory and added to the historical, fine arts and ethnographical collections.
His first important work was the inventory of the library and archive of the castle in Radvány. His works about cultural history were determining, he was a fanatic discoverer of local values, he wanted to make Temesvár beloved by the public. He made a lot of research about the cultural past of the town and its surroundings. He put the results of his research in books which are treasured nowadays as well. Berkeszi wrote the History of the State Secondary High-school for Modern Languages and Sciences (1896), in 1897 Adatok a reformkorszak történetéhez (Data for the History of Reformation), in 1898 Temesvár színészete a XVIII. században és az első magyar színészeti előadások (Acting in Temesvár in the 18th Century and the First Shows). In 1900 he published the Temesvári könyvnyomdászat és hírlapirodalom történet (The History of the Book Printing and Newspaper Literature in Temesvár). In the same year he published one of his most quoted works entitled Temesvár szabad királyi város kis monographiája (The Monography of the Free Royal Town of Temesvár). In the volume entitled Temesvár of the series Magyarország Vármegyéi és városai monográfia-sorozat (The Monography Series of the counties and towns of Hungary) he wrote the part which presented the history of art and the acting of the town.
Hetranslated fromGerman(in1887 itwaspublished Gróf Hoffmannseggutazása Magyarországon 1793-94 –CountHoffmannsegg’s Travels in Hungary 1793-94). It is worth mentioning his work A magyar nyelv a magánélet terén (The Hungarian Language in Private life). He processed the medal findings and wrote a book about the Artists in Temesvár -Temesvári művészek -1910). About him Károly Lyka’s newspaper Művészet in Budapest wrote the following: „…the merit of the book is that it has new information concerning the history of arts. Berkeszi made research about the life and work of painters, sculptors, architects and musicians who lived in Temesvár and published these treasures about that present the past of the town and are now available for the public” Many years after his death, in 1989 was published his manuscript, which is actually his diary entitled Temesvár története az I. világháború idején (The History of Temesvar During Teh First World War).
In 1909 the University of Arts and Sciences in Kolozsvár (today Cluj-Napoca, Romania) advertised an application for the position of historian of arts. In his letter sent to the University in September 17, 1909, Berkeszi wrote:
„I have been working in the field of history of civilisation since 1883. I had written studies, dissertation, which were published in scientific reviews, like the Budapesti Szemle, Múzeumok és Könyvtárak Értesítője, the books published by the János Arany Society, in the Pallas Lexicon, in the Történelmi és Régészeti Értesítő (Temesvár), and other youth magazines and local newspapers.
I can present 110 edited works in the field of cultural history, and other 30-40 works scattered here and there, which would not be easy to recover. Since 1901 I have also edited the Történelmi és Régészeti Értesítő ( Historical and Archaeological Gazette) for 8 years, and in a few months in the new issue there will be another of my studies – The Art of Temesvár – consisting of 120 pages […].
[…] From 1892 I have been the secretary of the Society of History and Archaeology in Southern Hungary and from 1906 the president of the district club for teachers in Temesvár which has 70 members, also head-master of the Free High-school in Temesvár and member of the János Arany Literature Society, etc.
Dear Sir, I apologise if I take advantage of your patience with my long letter, but I would like to apply for the position, but only if the Respectable Staff and you, Professor, agree. Won’t you laugh at me, since I am applying for this position at the age of 53? So, I only want to apply for this position if you agree with it, and if there is no other appointed professionals for this position…”
This letter shows that he had only one regret: he had never taught in a university, although taking into account his life work he would have deserved the Academic title.
