The determination of stellar temperatures from Baron B. Hark\'anyi to the Gaia mission

Abstract

The first determination of the surface temperature of stars other than the Sun is due to the Hungarian astrophysicist B\'ela Hark\'anyi. Prompted by the recent unprecedented increase in the availability of stellar temperature estimates from Gaia, coinciding with the 150th anniversary of Hark\'anyi's birth, this article presents the life and work of this neglected, yet remarkable figure in the context of the history of stellar astrophysics.