Romanian Learning Community and Resources

In this article we will talk about 15 well-known Romanian women who made history and inspired generations through their words, courage, cleverness and actions.  

15. Hariclea Darcée (1860-1939), opera singer  

Hariclea Darclée (born Hariclea Haricli) was a Romanian opera soprano, best known for being the first performer of the role of Floria Tosca in Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca, which premiered on January 14, 1900 at the Costanzi Theatre in Rome. 

She became famous after her debut in Paris in 1888 and quickly became the favourite of many composers. She performed in major opera houses in Paris, Berlin, Florence, Milan, Rome, Buenos Aires, and many more. She debuted at La Scala in Milan in 1890, where she was applauded by Giuseppe Verdi. She was highly regarded by Romanians, and King Carol I awarded her the "Bene Merente Class I" order. Darclée was instrumental in the creation of the Romanian Opera. 

14. Sarmiza Bilcescu - (1867-1935), the first woman doctorate in Law  

Sarmiza Bilcescu-Alimanisteanu was the first woman to become a lawyer in Europe and the first woman in the world to obtain a doctorate in law from Sorbonne University. Despite facing prejudice, she pursued her studies in Paris and impressed both French professors and the international press with her achievements. After being admitted to the Bar Association in 1891, she co-founded the Romanian Ladies' Society, an early feminist organization focused on promoting women's education. 

13. Elena Vãcãrescu - (1868-1947), writer, the first Romanian in the French Academy  

Elena Vãcãrescu was a Romanian writer, an honorary member of the Romanian Academy, and twice a laureate of the French Academy prize. Starting in 1919, she was appointed by the king of Romania as the general secretary of the Romanian Association at the League of Nations for a period of twenty years. For her merits, the French government awarded her the Knight of the Legion of Honour. Elena Vacarescu published six volumes of poetry in French and was an active and appreciated presence in Paris's cultural world. She wrote prose, plays, poems, and translations. Beyond her remarkable literary activity, she was a true ambassador for Romania. 

12. Alexandrina Cantacuzino (1876-1944), feminist leader  

Alexandrina Cantacuzino was a prominent feminist leader during the Interwar period in Romania. She was involved in various associations advocating for women's rights, such as the National Orthodox Society of Women and the National Group of Romanian Women. She also founded the first authoritarian political party for women in Romania, the National Group of Romanian Women, and proposed laws to regulate women's position in society. Cantacuzino's national activism was complemented by regional and European initiatives, such as the Little Entente of Women and her vice presidency in the International Council of Women. 

11. Queen Maria (1875 - 1938), second Queen of Romania  

Maria of Romania (born on October 29, 1875, in Kent, England) was the second queen of Romania, married to Prince Ferdinand I who became king. She was the mother of King Carol II. Born Marie Alexandra Victoria of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, she was a princess of Great Britain and Ireland, and the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. During World War I, she worked as a charity nurse in military hospitals, earning the nickname "mother of the wounded" among the people.  

Queen Maria had a complex personality and was a lover and collector of art, supporting a series of artistic and literary personalities with scholarships and money. She was also the author of interesting memoirs, stories, and poems for children. 

10. Cecilia Cutescu-Storck (1879-1969), the first woman professor in Europe  

Cecilia Cutescu-Storck was born in Vâlcea and adopted by her maternal grandparents. She attended the Central School for Girls in Bucharest and developed a passion for art. She studied in Munich and Paris, exhibiting her works in both countries. In 1916, she founded the Association of Women Painters and Sculptors and became the first woman in Europe to be a professor at a university of arts. She gained recognition for her murals in her own home and received important commissions, including a mural in the Aula Magna of the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. 

9. Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu (1887 - 1973), the first female engineer in Europe 

Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu was a Romanian engineer and one of the first female engineers in the world. Even though she was treated differently because of her gender, she followed her dream of becoming an engineer and was the first woman to join the Romanian Academy of Technical Sciences. 

Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu's achievements paved the way for future generations of women in engineering and science. Her legacy continues to encourage young women to go into STEM fields and break down barriers that hold them back. 

8. Ecaterina Teodoroiu - (1894-1917), the hero from Jiu 

Ecaterina was a scout and a participant in World War I, where she died at the end of the Battle of Marasesti, leading an infantry platoon of the Romanian Army. She came from a modest family and went to Bucharest to become a teacher, where she contributed to the establishment of the first scouting organizations in the country. After Romania entered World War I, she worked as a medical assistant on the front lines in her native region. Wanting to avenge her four brothers who had died in combat, Ecaterina requested to be transferred to a combat unit. She was taken prisoner, escaped, and was wounded twice. The royal family honored her and promoted her to the rank of second lieutenant in the hospital. In this role, she took part in the Battle of Marasesti, where she led an infantry platoon until her death. She was celebrated as a national hero after the end of the war. 

7. Smaranda Brãescu (1897-1948), the first woman parachutist with a license in Romania 

Smaranda Brãescu was the first woman with a parachute license in Romania, European parachuting champion in 1931, and world champion in 1932 (with a record of 7200 m in Sacramento, USA). She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest, in the Decorative Art and Ceramics section, between 1924-1928. On July 5th, 1928, she made her first parachute jump from an altitude of 600 m. On October 2, 1931, she won the European parachuting title, after a jump from an altitude of 6,000m, surpassing the American record of 5,384m. As a result of this success, she was awarded the Order of Aeronautical Virtue - Golden Cross class. 

6. Ana Aslan (1897-1988), the scientist who conquered old age 

In January 1952, the doctor Ana Aslan founded the world's first geriatrics institute, which now bears her name. It was the year she invented the formula for Gerovital H3, patented in 30 countries. Her products became known worldwide, used by famous figures such as Charles de Gaulle, J. F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Tito, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, and Salvador Dali. Despite her passion for aviation, she chose medicine and went on a hunger strike to convince her family to let her enroll in college. 

5. Florica Ciumetti-Bagdasar (1901-1978), doctor, the first prime-minister of Romania  

In 1927, Dr. Florica Ciumetti-Bagdasar went to the United States with her husband, Dumitru Bagdasar, to study a new field at Harvard University called child neuropsychiatric pathology. When she went back to Romania, she became Dr. Bagdasar's main assistant and helped him with many surgeries. In 1946, she became Romania’s first female Minister of Health. 

4. Irina Burnaia (1909-1997), the first woman who flew over the Carpatian Mountains  

Irina Burnaia broke records in a field that seemed to belong only to men. She was the first woman to fly over the Carpathian Mountains. She was also the first acrobatic female pilot in Romania to take part in national and international competitions. She was also the first to be brave enough to fly missions between continents. Pilot Petre Ivanovici taught her how to fly, and in 1933 she got her first- and second-grade licenses for touring planes.  

3. Sofia lonescu-Ogrezeanu (1920-2008), the first female neurosurgeon in the world 

Sofia Ionescu-Ogrezeanu, who is known as the "lady of Romanian neurosurgery," was the first woman in the world to operate on a child's brain, a victim of bombing. She did this in 1944, when she was in her fifth year of medical school. The World Health Organization declared her a medical hero, and she was included in an album of 65 famous doctors from around the world. She also received the "Sign of Distinction" from the Red Cross. 

2. Ana Blandiana (1942-prezent), writer, activist  

Ana Blandiana (by her real name, Otilia Valeria Rusan) is a writer and civil rights activist from Romania. She has written 26 books in her native language of Romanian, and those books have been translated into 26 other languages. Blandiana started the Romanian PEN Center and led it from 1990 to 2004. She also started the Civic Alliance in 1990 and started the Sighet Memorial and the Civic Academy. She is a member of the European Academy of Poetry, the Stéphane Mallarmé Academy of Poetry, and the World Academy of Poetry (UNESCO). She is also a member of the Romanian Academy.  

1. Nadia Comaneci (1961-present), the first gymnast in the world to score a perfect 10 

Roxana – OLS Community Manager