First, Hungary was part of the largest country in Europe at that time (ignoring Russia, which also had a huge Asiatic part), the Austro-Hungarian empire, so it

First, Hungary was part of the largest country in Europe at that time (ignoring Russia, which also had a huge Asiatic part), the Austro-Hungarian empire, so it was a cultural and intellectual center. There is also the legacy of the famous Eötvös competition, started by Baron Loránd Eötvös, which inspired the math Olympiad. Winners of the competition include Teller, Leo Szilard, von Karman, … So this emergence was hardly a coincidence. Hungary at the turn of the 20th century was well poised to create the intellectual legacy it had in math and physics in the coming 100 years: http://www.batmath.it/matematica/raccolte_es/ek_competitions/ek_competitions.pdf http://www.batmath.it/matematica/raccolte_es/ek_competitions... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loránd_Eötvös https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loránd_Eötvös