Born to a tax collector, Than was well brought up and well educated. He was sent to Vienna to read Economics before returning to his home state where he led the Budapest tax agency. Frequenting the middle class establishments of Budapest, he quickly fell under Nagy's spell and was a quick supporter of the revolution, becoming Nagy's prime advisor. It was he that persuaded Nagy to join with Austria in the Federation and, in return for saving the resolution from a grizzly end, Than was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Hungary; a capacity in which he served until 1856, when, as the troubles in Budapest worsened, Nagy transferred his seat on the Federal Council to Than. Than, coming from a town so close to the Slovak border and seeing separation as the only way to ensure stability,