Melchior Lengyel, born Lebovics Menyhért, (1880-1974) was a Hungarian writer, dramatist, and film screenwriter. He started his career as a journalist. He worked first in Kassa (Košice), then later in Budapest. His first play, A nagy fejedelem (The Great Prince) was performed by the Thalia Company in 1907. The Hungarian National Theatre performed his next drama A hálás utókor (The Grateful Posterity) in 1908 for which he received the Vojnits Award from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, given every year for the best play. Taifun (Typhoon), one of his plays, written in 1909, became a worldwide success and is still performed today. It was adapted to the screen in the USA in 1914.
