Frigyes Deri was born in the city of Bač. His father assumed that it was possible to reach social success with the help of a good education, so, in the 1870s his family moved to Vienna. Frigyes got a high school diploma in Economics, began studying in the vocational school and practice in textile factories. After that, he got precious skills in trading and production. Later, he became one of the most famous entrepreneurs of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy: his silk factories were actually very successful.

Frigyes Deri was high-bred: he respected civic values, was economical, hardworking and loved his country. When the entrepreneur became very rich, he began to collect different items. Besides, he sponsored the Museum of Arts, Ethnography Museum, and Calvinist College of Debrecen. In addition, he was rather modest and always refused to receive awards and take part in public ceremonies. 

The passion for the artifacts’ collecting appeared at the end of the 19th- the beginning of the 20th century: he collected the antiquities and placed in his and his wife’s home museum in the castle of Styria. The main idea was to create a pompous and luxurious collection in the castle, but the sudden and early death of his wife Louise Brix in 1910, changed the situation. That time Deri sold his house and the main part of the collection.

In 1920, Deri visited Debrecen to give his updated collection to the city. The merchant signed a contract with the city authorities and announced the construction of the new museum’s building to keep the exhibits. The sponsor could not see the opening, he suddenly died in 1925 in Vienna, while the museum had an opening ceremony and met its first visitors in 1930.

The main function of the museum – to make the knowledge accessible and useful for everyone, and actively participate in the educational work of different local and regional institutions: kindergartens, elementary schools, colleges, universities. The mission of the museum is to give people access to the unknown world, showing the exhibits of ancient and geographically distinct cultures.