Constantin Dobrescu-Argeș

Constantin I. Dobrescu-Argeș (June 28, 1856–December 10, 1903) was a Romanian teacher, journalist, jurist, peasant activist and politician.

Born in Mușătești, Argeș County, his father Ion Dobrescu was a Romanian Orthodox priest. After attending primary school in his native village, Dobrescu continued his education at Curtea de Argeș and Pitești. He studied at the theological seminary in the former town, and later obtained a doctorate in law from the Free University of Brussels[1] after studying there from 1894 to 1897.[2] In 1874, he became a teacher in Mușătești. In order to facilitate the peasantry's access to education and the amenities of modern life, he advocated for the establishment of free libraries, rural banks and general stores. In 1879, the Central Rural Athenaeum, devoted to teaching adult peasants to read and write, was founded under his guidance. This institution comprised a choral and folk dance ensemble, a public library, an ethnographic and pedagogic museum, an agronomical station, a gymnastics arena, a school for adults, several cultural circles, a popular bank and a magazine that disseminated news of these venues' achievements. In 1895, he founded Școala Nouă at Domnești; this cultural society was furnished with a library and reading room.[1] He edited several periodicals: Țăranul (1881), Romania's first rural cultural and political publication; and Gazeta poporului and Gazeta țăranilor (1892-1903), through which he attempted to spread his ideas into the villages, aiming to integrate all rural teachers into cultural societies.[1][2]

Dobrescu-Argeș' political activity was also geared toward representing the peasantry. He was elected to the Assembly of Deputies for Argeș several times, serving between 1888 and 1899. In October 1895 in Bucharest, he held a congress that initiated a peasants' political organization, Partida Țărănească. This was the first of its kind in Romania and operated until 1899. He collaborated with important cultural and political figures, including Vasile Kogălniceanu, Spiru Haret, Ion Luca Caragiale, Tudor Arghezi, Nicolae Filipescu, Take Ionescu and Nicolae Fleva.[1] In 1898, the governing National Liberals framed Dobrescu-Argeș, accusing him of falsifying an insurance policy and embezzling funds. Finally convicted in 1903, he was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, which he served at Văcărești prison. After being released, he was completely demoralized and soon disappeared from public life. Near the end of the same year, gravely ill and paralyzed in both legs, he was taken from Bucharest to Mușătești, where he died in his parental home.[3] A bust was raised in his honor in Curtea de Argeș in 1933, and a high school named after him there in 1990; a street in Pitești also bears his name.[2]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Giurescu, pp. 176-77
  2. 1 2 3 (Romanian) Enciclopedia Argeșului și Muscelului – V, at the University of Pitești Enciclopedia Argeșului și Muscelului site, p. 301-02
  3. ↑ Dima, p. 21

References

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