József was born on April 2nd, 1859 in Budapest and his baptism took place there on May 5th, 1859.1 József's father was Ferenc Magyary-Kossa and his mother was Róza Nagy. His paternal grandparents were István Magyary-Kossa and Erzsébet Kenessey. He had a brother and a sister, named Ferenc and Róza. He was the oldest of the three children. He died at the age of 73 on September 8th, 1932 in Budapest.2