Dimitrie Leonida (May 23, 1883–March 14, 1965) 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 energy engineer. Born in

Fălticeni Fălticeni (; ''; ;'' ) is a town in Suceava County, northeastern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Western Moldavia. According to the 2021 census, Fălticeni is the third largest urban settlement in the county. It was declared ...

, his father Atanase was a cavalry officer, while his mother (née Gill) was the daughter of a French building engineer. He had seven surviving siblings, and despite the family’s financial difficulties, all had distinguished careers, including Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu and Gheorghe Leonida. Frequently moving due to Atanase’s profession, Dimitrie ultimately graduated from Mihai Viteazul National College in

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 ...

. He then entered the Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg, graduating with distinction in 1908. While a student, he proposed a subway system for Bucharest.Biography
at the Hidroelectrica site His thesis proposed what would become the Bicaz-Stejaru Hydroelectric Power Station late in his life, and he spent years advocating for the project. Meanwhile, after returning to Romania, Leonida was hired to direct electrification at ''

Căile Ferate Române Căile Ferate Române (; abbreviated as the CFR) was the state railway carrier of Romania. The company was dissolved on 1 October 1998 by splitting into several successor companies. CFR as an entity existed from 1880, even though the first ra ...

'' railway carrier. For decades, he promoted the electrification of Romania. In 1908, he founded the country’s first school for electricians and mechanics, teaching there without pay for 44 years. He also taught at

Politehnica University of Timișoara Politehnica University of Timișoara (; abbreviated UPT) is a public university in Timișoara. Founded in 1920, it is one of the largest institute of technology, technical universities in Central and Eastern Europe. The 10 faculties of the univ ...

(1924-1941) and at

Politehnica University of Bucharest Politehnica University of Bucharest () is a technical university in Bucharest, Romania founded in 1818. In 1909, he founded what would become the

Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum The Dimitrie Leonida Technical Museum was founded in 1909 by Dimitrie Leonida, inspired by the Deutsches Museum, München Technical Museum, he had visited during his studies in Charlottenburg Polytechnic Institute. In 1908, with the help of th ...

. The

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

awarded him the State Prize in 1954 and the Order of Labor in 1961. The Dimitrie Leonida station of the

Bucharest Metro The Bucharest Metro () is an underground rapid transit system that serves Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It first opened for service on 16 November 1979. The network is run by Metrorex. One of two parts of the larger Transport in Bucharest, B ...

is named after him.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonida, Dimitrie 1883 births 1965 deaths People from Fălticeni Romanian people of French descent Technische Universität Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Politehnica University of Timișoara Academic staff of the Politehnica University of Bucharest Căile Ferate Române people Romanian electrical engineers Mihai Viteazul National College (Bucharest) alumni