Istvan (on the right)
Henry Istvan (June, 1894 - October 8, 2006) was an Anglo-Lovian ringmaster and career soldier. He is one of the oldest Lovians ever; he was 112 years old when he died.
Early life[]
Henry Istvan was born in 1894 to George Istvan (Anglo-Lovian ringmaster at Circus Maximus) and Elizabeth Knight, an English woman. His parents got him interested in the circus, and he planned to be the next ringmaster. Though Sir George Coningham bought the circus in 1897, his father was still the ringmaster. In 1913, he fell in love with Zarina Peric, an Oceana trapezist working in his father's circus. They had 1 son, Jonas.
Military career[]
In July of 1914, World War I started in Europe and Henry was eager to fight. His parents were not so sure, but since he was British, he went anyways. He served in the Belgian front that year, and fought in the First and Second Battle of Ypres. Istvan was wounded by a shell (in 1915) and was discharged and sent to a hospital in England. There, he met Joanna Kingsley, a nurse, and they were married that year. They returned to Lovia in 1916 and he took up the job as ringmaster of Circus Maximus. He and Joanna had 2 sons, Peter Istvan and Martin Istvan, and a daughter Joanna. When the Russian revolution took place and the Russian Civil War started, Henry eagerly went and enlisted with the British Army. He fell in love with a Russian woman (Feodora Valgrava)and had one daughter, Aleksandra Valgrava. He served until 1919, and then went to fight in the Estonian War of Independence. That year, he was transfered to India to fight in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. There he got shot twice and was sent back home to Lovia. His wife was unhappy with him being away so much that she left him and took their kids. He decided to settle down and continued his job as ringmaster. He married Mary Downing, a Lovian seamstress in 1921 and had 6 kids: Henry Jr, Isabel, Diana, Jeffery ,Martin and Grace. But, there was always that itch to fight. He wanted to go to war in Afghanistan, so his wife left him. In 1929, he went to fight with the British in the Afghan Civil War. After returning, he fell in love with Sophie Brown, a minor actress and they had seven children from 1931-1939. He joined the International Brigades and fought in the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and 1937. In Spain he had a child with a nurse, Sofia del Toro. He returned to Lovia in 1937, but quickly returned to Europe to fight in World War II. In France, he fell in love with Therese Latour, a nurse. He and Therese had 4 children, 1 in France and 3 in England. In 1945, he was sent to the Pacific, and he left his French wife in England with the kids. When he returned to Lovia, he found out that his wife Sophie Brown had married another man. He married Thelma Parr Sennett (the future Governor of Sylvania) in 1946, and had 5 kids. He went to fight in the Korean War from 1950-1952. He divorced Thelma in 1956.
Later life[]
Henry Istvan stopped his life as a soldier. He married Eloise Banks in 1959 and had 1 son (who died in 1963). Since Lovia doesn't have an army, he is one of the few Lovian veterans. He stayed with his wife until her death in 1994. Istvan died of very old age in his house in Newhaven.
Legacy[]
Henry is famous for 2 things: having fought in so many battles and having many kids.
He fought in 8 different armed conflicts from 1914-1952.
Henry Istvan's Children[]
Henry Istvan had 29 children, all with 9 different women. None of them lived with him for more than 10 years.
With Zarina Peric:
- Jonas Istvan-Peric (1913-1998)
With Joanna Kingsley:
- Peter Istvan (1915)
- Martin Istvan (1916)
- Joanna Istvan (1918-1966)
With Feodora Valgrava:
- Aleksandra Valgrava (1919)
With Mary Downing:
- Henry Istvan Jr. (1921)
- Isabel Istvan (1923-2005)
- Diana Istvan (1923)
- Jeffery Istvan (1925-1979)
- Martin Istvan (1927)
- Grace Istvan (1928)
With Sophie Brown:
- James Brown Istvan (1930)
- Jerry Brown Istvan (1931)
- Mathilda Brown Istvan (1933)
- Daisy Brown Istvan (1934)
- William Brown Istvan (1936)
- Alice Brown Istvan (1938-2010)
- Deborah Istvan (1939)
With Sofia del Toro:
- Jose del Toro (1937)
With Therese Latour:
- Joseph Latour (1940)
- Marc Latour (1941)
- Brigitte Latour (1942)
- Diane Latour (1944-1988)
With Thelma Parr Sennett:
- William Istvan Sennett (1946)
- Gerome Istvan Sennett (1947)
- Anna Istvan Sennett (1949)
- Louise Istvan Sennett (1953)
- Mary Istvan Sennett (1955)
With Eloise Banks:
- Jim Banks Istvan
He appears in the 1st issue of The Lovian Book of Records.