Lily Kronberger
Lily Kronberger, born in Budapest in 1887, was one of the worlds’ best figure skaters of her time, winning four consecutive world championships between 1908 and 1911. Kronberger died in 1974 and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1997.
Article
Ice-skating champion Lily Kronberger was born in 1887 in Budapest, Hungary, where the participation of Jews in ice-skating was more the result of emulating the Hungarian nobility than of any other factor. At the first official world championships in 1906 Kronberger finished third. The following year she again took third place. Thereafter, she was ranked first until her retirement from competition.
In 1908 Lily Kronberger became the Hungarian champion and retained the title for two consecutive years. During the same year she also captured the world championship held in Tropau and remained the world’s best figure skater for three more years (1909 Budapest, 1910 Berlin, and 1911 Vienna). Kronberger also significantly influenced the future course of ice-skating. It is said that she was the first figure skater to successfully complete an entire program with musical accompaniment.
Kronberger died in 1974 and was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1997.
“Lili Kronberger.” International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, n.d. http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/LiliKronberger.htm.
Matthews, Peter and Ian Morrison. The Guinness Encyclopaedia of Sports Records and Results. Enfield, UK: Guinness, 1987.
“World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.” World Figure Skating Museum, n.d. http://www.worldskatingmuseum.org/WorldHallOfFame.html.
More Like This
Double your impact to amplify Jewish women’s stories—
All gifts matched up to $35,000
Before you close this article, please consider supporting the Jewish Women’s Archive and uplifting Jewish women’s voices.
At JWA, we preserve the voices of Jewish women and gender-expansive people past and present, share them freely with millions online, and empower a new generation of Jewish feminists to lead with courage, creativity, and conviction.
But none of this happens without you. JWA is an independent nonprofit— we rely on people, like you, who believe that history belongs to all of us and that the voices of Jewish women must remain powerful, and heard.
This month, a generous JWA board member will match every gift dollar for dollar—up to $35,000—through June 30. Your contribution goes twice as far right now.
Every contribution—no matter the size—helps us document, teach, and inspire through Jewish women’s stories.
It takes less than a minute to make a difference.
Thank you for being a part of the JWA community,
Judith Rosenbaum, CEO
