Kossuth, Lajos, << KOS ooth or KAW shut, LAH yawsh >> (1802-1894), a Hungarian national hero, led the unsuccessful Hungarian rebellion of 1848-1849.
Kossuth entered parliament in 1825 and soon became a leader of the movement for liberal government reform. When uprisings broke out in the Austrian Empire in 1848, the Hungarians, led by Kossuth, also revolted. They claimed the right to complete independence. But Kossuth refused to grant independence to the minority groups living in the Hungarian part of the empire. The minorities revolted against Hungarian rule. Russia helped the Austrians defeat Kossuth’s army.
Kossuth fled to Turkey in 1849. There, he was held as a prisoner for a time. Afterwards, Kossuth toured the United States, and was hailed by Americans as the Hungarian George Washington. He died in exile on March 20, 1894. Kossuth was born on Sept. 19, 1802, at Monok in northeastern Hungary.
