István Kertész
Kertész was born in Budapest.  His family were Jewish.  His father was director at a leather factory.  When his father died of appendicitis in 1938, his mother had to go out to work to earn money.  It was not easy at the time for women in Hungary to find work, but she was successful.  István started to learn the violin when he was six, and after a few years he started learning the piano as well.