Josef Budenz graduated from high school in Fulda in 1854[1] and studied in Marburg and from 1855 for three years in Göttingen, among others with Theodor Benfey[1] with a focus on Indo-European comparative linguistics.

He deepened his knowledge of Uralic and Altaic languages under the guidance of Pál Hunfalvy [de; hu; pl; eo].

[2] One camp proposed that Hungarians were related to Turanians, supported by Arminius Vambery who wrote a book on the topic and was a friend of Budenz.

On 27 May 1963, a memorial plaque was dedicated in his honor at the house where he was born, currently in use as the town hall of the village where he formerly attended school in Rasdorf.

He was a professor at the University of Budapest from 1868 until his death on 15 April 1892, and is the founder of modern Finno-Ugric comparative linguistics.