Constantin C. Giurescu (; 26 October 1901 – 13 November 1977) was a

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

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) 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 by ...

, and professor at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princ ...

. Born in

Focșani Focșani (; yi, פֿאָקשאַן, Fokshan) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population () of 79,315. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Cur ...

, son of historian

Constantin Giurescu Constantin Giurescu may refer to: * Constantin Giurescu (historian) (1875–1918), Romanian historian, titular member of the Romanian Academy * Constantin C. Giurescu (1901–1977), Romanian historian, member of the Romanian Academy, and professo ...

, he completed his primary and secondary studies in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north ...

. In 1923, he graduated with a doctorate from the

with the thesis "Contributions to the studies of great dignitaries of the 14th and 15th century." He completed his education at the Romanian School in Paris (1923–1925) (established in 1920 by

Nicolae Iorga Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga;Iova, p. xxvii. 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet ...

) and upon return, he began his teaching career. He was editor (1933) of the Romanian Historical Review and founder (1931) and director (1933) of the National Institute for History. His political activity included membership of the

Chamber of Deputies of Romania ); – Committee for Industries and Services ( ro, Comisia pentru industrii și servicii); – Committee for Transport and Infrastructure ( ro, Comisia pentru transporturi și infrastructură); – Committee for Agriculture, Forestry, Food Indu ...

(1932–1933) and secretary in the

National Renaissance Front The National Renaissance Front ( ro, Frontul Renașterii Naționale, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romani ...

government (1939–1940). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the advent of the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Com ...

in Romania, he was fired from the University of Bucharest in 1948, and was sent as a political prisoner at the notorious

Sighet Prison The Sighet prison, located in the city of Sighetu Marmației, Maramureș County, Romania, was used by Romania to hold criminals, prisoners of war, and political prisoners. It is now the site of the Sighet Memorial Museum, part of the Memorial of ...

, where he was incarcerated from 1950 to 1955. Decorarea prof

Giurescu returned to the University of Bucharest in 1963 and was elected titular member of the Romanian Academy in 1974. As a great specialist in

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

and early modern history of

Southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

, he was expected to have been the first to hold the

Chair at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in the Spring semester of 1972. He authored works such as ''History of Romanians'', ''Nomadic Populations in the Euro-Asian and the part they played in the formation of Mediaeval States'', ''The Making of the Romanian Unitary State'', ''The Making of the Romanian People and Language'', ''Chronological History of Romania'', ''Transylvania in the History of the Rumanian People'', and ''A history of the Romanian forest''. He was the father of historian Dinu C. Giurescu. Constantin C. Giurescu died in Bucharest in 1977, aged 76.

References

1901 births 1977 deaths People from Focșani National Liberal Party-Brătianu politicians Romanian Ministers of Culture Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) 20th-century Romanian historians University of Bucharest alumni University of Bucharest faculty Titular members of the Romanian Academy Inmates of Sighet prison Romanian prisoners and detainees {{romania-historian-stub