Constantin I. Istrati (7 September 1850 – 17 January 1919) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n chemist, physician, and politician. He was Minister of Public Works in 1899–1900, Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Trade, and Domains in 1907,

Mayor of Bucharest The mayor of Bucharest (), sometimes known as the general mayor, is the head of the Bucharest City Hall in Bucharest, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast ...

in 1912–1913, and President of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

between 1913 and 1916.

Biography

He was born in 1850 in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

(now in

Neamț County Neamț County () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in the historic region of Moldavia, with the county seat at Piatra Neamț. The county takes its name from the Neamț River. Demographics Population In 2011, it had a population of 470,766 ...

). He studied at the

Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institute, housing several fa ...

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, after which he went to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

to study at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, graduating in 1869, and obtaining his

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

in 1877. After collaborating with Carol Davila, Istrati pursued his studies for three years at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, where he obtained in 1885 a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Chemistry under the direction of

Charles Adolphe Wurtz Charles Adolphe Wurtz (; 26 November 181710 May 1884) was an Alsatian French chemist. He is best remembered for his decades-long advocacy for the atomic theory and for ideas about the structures of chemical compounds, against the skeptical opinio ...

and

Charles Friedel Charles Friedel (; 12 March 1832 – 20 April 1899) was a French chemist and Mineralogy, mineralogist. Life A native of Strasbourg, France, he was a student of Louis Pasteur at the University of Paris, Sorbonne. In 1876, he became a professor of ...

, with thesis ''On colored ethylbenzene and some observations about boiling points in the aromatic series''. In 1883 he was named Professor of Physics at the School of Bridges and Roads in Bucharest, replacing

Emanoil Bacaloglu Emanoil Bacaloglu (; – 30 August 1891) was a Wallachian and Romanian mathematician, physicist and chemist. Born in Bucharest and of Greeks of Romania, Greek origin, he studied physics and mathematics in Paris and Leipzig, later becoming a pro ...

. On April 1, 1889, Istrati was elected corresponding member of the

. Istrati later became a professor at the University of Bucharest, where he introduced the teaching of organic chemistry. He served as Minister of Public Works in the first government of

Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (22 September 1833 – 22 March 1913), was a Romanian politician and lawyer, one of the leading Conservative Party policymakers. Among his political posts were minister of public instruction in Romania, presid ...

(April 11, 1899 to January 9, 1900), and as Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Trade, and Domains in the second Cantacuzino government (February 26 to March 12, 1907). From October 1912 to March 1913, he served as

Istrati died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1919. He is buried at

Bellu Cemetery Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania. It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...

in Bucharest; next to his tomb there is a bust of him, designed by the sculptor

Raffaello Romanelli Raffaello Romanelli (13 May 1856 – 3 April 1928) was an Italian sculptor, born in Florence, Italy. The son of Florentine sculptor Pasquale Romanelli, Raffaello is fore-mostly known for his monuments and portrait busts dedicated to noteworthy ...

. Streets in Bucharest and

Câmpina Câmpina () is a city in Prahova County, Romania, north of the county seat Ploiești, located on the main route between Wallachia and Transylvania. Its existence is first attested in a document of 1503. It is situated in the historical region of ...

are named after him.

Bibliography

* , 1962-1964

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Istrati, Constantin 1850 births 1919 deaths People from Roman, Romania Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni University of Paris alumni Academic staff of the Politehnica University of Bucharest Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Presidents of the Romanian Academy Romanian chemists 19th-century Romanian physicians 20th-century Romanian physicians Ministers of culture of Romania Ministers of education of Romania Ministers of public works of Romania Ministers of industry and commerce of Romania Burials at Bellu Cemetery