Iván Szelényi: key obituary facts
Is Iván Szelényi dead? Yes. Iván Szelényi died on August 3, 2026, at age 88.
Cause of death: Iván Szelényi's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Iván Szelényi known for?
He was a Hungarian-American sociologist (1938–2026).
More about Iván Szelényi
Born: 17 April 1938.
Place of birth: Budapest.
Gender: male.
Occupation: sociologist, university teacher, academic.
Nationality: United States, Hungary.
Education: Corvinus University of Budapest, University of California, Berkeley, Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Employer: Yale University, New York University, University of California, Los Angeles, New York University Abu Dhabi, Flinders University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, City University of New York.
Awards: Széchenyi Prize, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, honorary citizen of Budapest.
Father: Gusztáv Szelényi.
Occupations: scholar, professor.
Title: William Graham Sumner Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Yale University, Foundation Dean of Social Sciences, NYUAD.
Iván Szelényi, the Hungarian–American sociologist and university teacher who became a leading figure in the study of social and economic change, died on August 3, 2026, aged 88.
Born in Budapest on April 17, 1938, he studied at the External Trade Faculty of the Karl Marx University of Economics in Budapest and later spent time at the University of California, Berkeley on a Ford Foundation scholarship. Szelényi held academic posts at a number of universities, including Yale University, New York University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and New York University Abu Dhabi, where he was dean of social sciences in 2010.
His work was recognized with the Széchenyi Prize, election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and honorary citizenship of Budapest.