This obituary commemorates a scholar who dedicated his entire career to the research of 16th-18th century Hungarian drama and theatre history. István Kilián created a research team that formed significant international connections so that the results of Hungarian scholarship could take their rightful place within a European context. István Kilián led the work of the research team for almost forty years, he compiled multiple theatre history databases concerning Minorite, Piarist and Jesuit school theatre traditions, and published dozens of old Hungarian plays in Hungarian and Latin.