Papp, Simon (1884–1970)
Mining engineer and university professor. The country’s first oil reserves in commercial quantities were discovered in the Budafa district, where Papp had predicted. He became chief geologist to the Hungarian-American Oil Industry Co. formed in 1938 to exploit the field. From the end of March 1945 to May 1947, he was managing director and vice-president of the company. He became a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1945 and a full member in 1946–9. In 1948, he was arrested on fabricated charges and sentenced first to death and then to life imprisonment. His sentence was suspended in 1955, and in 1960, he was given an amnesty. He then worked in the oil industry until his retirement in 1962.
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