Finding aid for the Leslie S. Domonkos Papers, 1858-2006

Biography of Leslie S. Domonkos

Dr. Leslie S. Domonkos was born in Budapest, Hungary on March 14, 1938. His family left Hungary in 1945 to avoid the Russian invasion that would inevitably happen. During this time and for a number of years afterward, the family moved frequently, usually in Austria or zones of Germany that were occupied by America, Britain, or France. Dr. Domonkos' education was sporadic at this time due to the constant movement. In 1951, the Domonkos family was finally able to immigrate to the United States and came to reside in Sharon, Pennsylvania. In high school, Dr. Domonkos displayed a love of medieval history, which led him to enroll at Youngstown State University in the fall of 1956 as a history major. In addition to majoring in history, he also majored in French and minored in Sociology and German. Even as a freshman, he knew that he would eventually obtain his Ph.D. and become a professor. He graduated with an A.B. from YSU in 1959. Dr. Domonkos began attending the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 1959 to work on a Masters in history. He was also hired as a Research Assistant in the History department, which allowed him time to focus on his studies. While at the university, he concentrated on medieval and renaissance history. When it came time to complete his thesis, Dr. Domonkos was advised by Dr. Gabriel to write about Hungary, which led to his thesis about foreign influences on Hungary during the renaissance. Dr. Gabriel became a close friend and his name appears in many of Dr. Domonkos' papers. Dr. Domonkos graduated with his Masters in 1960. After graduating with his Masters, Dr. Domonkos enrolled once again at the University of Notre Dame, but this time in Medieval Studies at the Medieval Institute. He was able to obtain a graduate assistantship at the institute, which allowed him to study even more about medieval history. Dr. Domonkos wrote his second thesis about the first university in Hungary, the University of Obuda. Between obtaining his second Masters and his Ph.D., Dr. Domonkos worked as a part time instructor at Youngstown University in 1963. Afterwards, he attended the University of Vienna upon receiving a fellowship and studied there for a year. Dr. Domonkos began writing his dissertation at this time, which included history about different Hungarian universities. It was during his year in Vienna that he was able to marry his wife, Eva, and she spent the second half of his year studying abroad with him in Vienna. During this time, Dr. Domonkos and his wife were able to travel to Hungary and he conversed with Hungarian scholars as part of his research for his dissertation. He completed his studies at the University of Vienna in 1964 and returned to Youngstown, where he began teaching as an Instructor of History. Because of his schedule, he was not able to complete his dissertation until 1966, at which point he received his Ph.D. and became an associate professor. In 1970, Dr. Domonkos took a sabbatical to Hungary that lasted a year through IREX (International Research & Exchanges) . He studied at the Historical Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, researching the Hungarian renaissance. Additional sabbaticals were taken in Hungary in 1973, 1979, 1988, and 1997. While at Youngstown University, Dr. Domonkos held multiple titles worthy of note. He acted as chairman from 1969 to 1970 and 1985 to 1986, became the director of graduate studies from 1968 to 1972, a senior member of the graduate faculty in 1968, a distinguished member of the graduate faculty in 1990, and Professor Emeritus in 2002. Dr. Domonkos has coedited five books and has written a monograph. He also published over 35 articles in multiple languages, usually English or Hungarian and presented papers at a large number of conferences between 1969 and 2000.

Scope and Content

This collection contains papers collected or written by Dr. Leslie S. Domonkos dating from 1858 to 2006. The majority of the collection is based around medieval history or Hungary. Most of the materials are in paper form, though some correspondences have photographs attached and one painting is available. The collection is organized chronologically, but specific correspondences may be difficult to find because they are not in order within their specified year. Series I contains personal papers and is broken down between publications and book reviews. Publications are articles that Dr. Domonkos has written and some folders include the original typed or hand written article. Some also have a published version of the document. Book reviews are reviews written by Dr. Domonkos about other published works. Series II is comprised of a variety of materials ranging from old documents, a painting, interviews, and applications submitted by Dr. Domonkos for different programs. Series III includes correspondence written either by or to Dr. Domonkos between the 1960 and 2006. Series IV consists of the written lectures and talks given by Dr. Domonkos at conferences, graduations, or retirements. Series V are evaluations, which include evaluations of Dr. Domonkos by students and by fellow staff, as well as recommendations that he wrote for his students.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

None

Restrictions on Access

None

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Persons:

Custodial History

Dr. Domonkos kept this collection of papers in two filing cabinets in the YSU history department until they were donated in 2006.

Preferred Citation

Youngstown State University, Leslie S. Domonkos Papers, RG #62, Archives & Special Collections, William F. Maag, Jr. Library, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio.

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to the YSU archives in July of 2006 by Dr. Leslie S. Domonkos.

Processing Information

This collection was processed in 2011. The Leslie S. Domonkos Papers were processed by Samantha Schneider, a practicum student in the Library and Information Science Program at Kent State University. She has four years of experience working in a library setting and is focusing on digital libraries and digital preservation in her Master's program.

Related Materials

The following is a list of related works written by Dr. Domonkos or a group that includes Dr. Domonkos that can be found either in the Maag Library stacks or the YSU archives.

Detailed Description of The Collection

http://digital.maag.ysu.edu:8080/xmlui/handle/1989/9810