László Skultéty

László Skultéty (Slovak: Ladislav Škultéty-Gábriš, June 27, 1738 – August 19, 1831) was the longest serving Hungarian Hussar in Hungarian history. He served 81 years as a cavalryman before his retirement. He fought in 256 battles during 22 military campaigns and the rule of four emperors.

He was born on 27 June 1738 in Pruzsina, Kingdom of Hungary (now Mojtín, Slovakia). According to his birth certificate, written in Latin, he was a son of Georgius Gabrizech and Catharina Kowacze (ch?).

According to contemporary sources, he spoke Hungarian, German, Slovak, Latin and partially French. He volunteered for the Ghilányi Hussar regiment when he was 12, after the death of his mother. Skultéty served under András Hadik during the Seven Years' War, and participated in the capture of the Prussian capital, Berlin.He achieved two high awards of the Habsburg army Silver Medal for Bravery and Military Cross. He died in a field hospital at the age of 93 in Kisszentmiklós (today part of Arad, Romania). He donated Mojtény (present-day Mojtín) his life savings and his last will was to build a church and a school there. His tomb was renovated in 1898, when citizens of Arad erected an obelisk.

In 2013, his remains were exhumed and buried in his native village with respect to the planned abolishment of the old cemetery in Arad and per agreement between Slovak and Romanian public authorities. The action caused outrage in the Hungarian government because Skultéty's grave in Arad was one of the many Hungarian cultural heritage sites and Budapest was not notified about the planned exhumation. Zsolt Semjén, the Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, said that "Slovakia has to stop the falsification of history". The reburial was held on 27 June 2013.