Timeline / 1850 to 1910 / ROMANIA
Date Country Theme
1850 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
January: the birth of Mihai Eminescu, who is considered to be the most important Romanian poet of the 19th century.
1851 Romania International Exhibitions
Wallachia and Moldavia participate in the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, organised at the Crystal Palace in London. Their products are exhibited in the Ottoman pavilion.
1853 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
14 February: installation of the first electric telegraph lines in the Romanian territories, connecting Ia#i with Cern#u#i.
1854 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
20 August: inauguration of the first railway of Romania, linking Bazia# to Oravi#a (in Banat). Used at first to transport coal, it was opened for passenger transportation in 1856. In the United Principalities, the first railway line, built by the British company J.T. Barkley and J. Staniforth, was inaugurated 31 October 1869.
1855 - 1856 Romania Reforms And Social Changes
In Moldavia (22 December 1855) and then in Wallachia (20 February 1856) a law for the emancipation of the gypsy slaves of private owners is passed. Gypsies belonging to the church and to the state had already been liberated.
1856 Romania Political Context
At the Congress of Paris peace conference, Wallachia and Moldavia are put under the collective guarantee of the Great Powers (Austria, Russia, Prussia, Piedmont, the UK and France), while remaining under Ottoman sovereignty. The Russian protectorate over the Romanian countries is ended. Moldavia receives the southeast of Bessarabia.
1856 Romania Economy And Trade
The internationalisation of the Danube through the Treaty of Paris has a positive influence on the development of Romanian commerce.
1857 Romania Economy And Trade
March: the first oil refinery in Romania is built by Teodor Mehedin#eanu at Râfov, Prahova.
1858 Romania Reforms And Social Changes Date Country Theme
Through the Paris Convention signed in August 1858 by Russia, the UK, France, Piedmont, Prussia, Austria and the Ottoman Empire the privileges and ranks of the Romanian aristocracy in Moldavia and Wallachia are abolished.
1858 Romania Political Context
19 August: the Ottoman Empire, Austria, Russia, Prussia, Piedmont, the UK and France sign the Paris Convention marking the creation of the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, with separate rulers, legislative and executive powers, and only two institutions in common (Supreme Court of Appeals and central legislative commission). The convention replaces the Organic Regulations, becoming the new constitution of the United Principalities.
1859 - 1861 Romania Political Context
Union of Moldavia and Wallachia. In January 1859 Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected ruler of both Moldavia and Wallachia, the double election being recognised by the Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire. In November 1861 the sultan issues a ferman approving the political and administrative union of Moldavia and Wallachia during Cuza’s reign. The United Principalities could now have a single government and parliament.
1860 Romania Fine And Applied Arts
7 November: on the initiative of painter Gheorghe Panaitescu-Bardasare, a School of Fine Arts and an art gallery are founded in Ia#i.
1863 Romania Reforms And Social Changes
December: the National Gathering of the United Principalities adopts the law through which the land owned by monasteries (more than a quarter of Romania’s surface) becomes property of the state.
1863 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
The literary society Junimea, which had an important role in promoting Romanian literature, is founded in Ia#i. In 1867 it begins publishing a periodical in which the works of Romanian writers appear and also translations from worldwide literature.
1864 Romania Fine And Applied Arts
Dimitrie Bolintineanu, the Minister of Religion and Public Instruction, organises in Bucharest an exhibition displaying works of contemporary Romanian artists, the most important of the time being painters Theodor Aman, Gheorghe Tattarescu and Carol Popp de Szathmari.
1864 Romania Reforms And Social Changes
December: the law of public instruction establishes free, compulsory primary education.
1864 Romania Political Context Date Country Theme
14 May: coup d’état of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who dissolves parliament and proposes a new constitutional project, which is voted the same month and ratified by the Ottoman Empire and the guaranteeing Powers in June 1864. The Statute Expanding the Paris Convention assigned greater power to the prince and the government.
1864 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces
19 August: establishment of Bucharest’s city hall. Bucharest had been the United Principalities’ capital since 1861.
1864 Romania Reforms And Social Changes
26 August: Alexandru Ioan Cuza promulgates the first Romanian land reform, which transforms peasants into owners of the land on which they had been working on the estates of the aristocracy. Peasants are also freed from the duties they had to perform for the nobility.
1864 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces
14 April: the Commune Law is adopted by which cities and towns become urban communes, led by a mayor and a council. All urban communes must have a fire department and a hospital.
1864 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
4 August: establishment of the General Directorate of the Post and the Telegraph in the United Principalities.
1864 Romania Fine And Applied Arts
14 November: a School of Fine Arts (which today is the National University of Art) is founded in Bucharest by painters Gheorghe Tattarescu and Theodor Aman.
1864 Romania Economy And Trade
27 October: foundation of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
1865 Romania Fine And Applied Arts
The first showing of the “Living Artists Exhibition” (for painters and sculptors), organised by painter Theodor Aman, takes place in Ia#i. The annual organisation of such an exhibition is established by a decree issued in December 1864.
1866 Romania Political Context
14–20 April: plebiscite leading to German Prince Carol de Hohenzollern- Sigmaringen being elected ruler of the United Principalities and recognised by the Ottoman Empire in October. On 13 July a new constitution is adopted, based on the Belgian one from 1835.
1866 Romania Political Context Date Country Theme
February: because of his authoritative regime, Cuza is forced to abdicate by a coalition of conservative and liberal-radical politicians.
1867 Romania International Exhibitions
At the International Exposition held in Paris, the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia have their own pavilions.
1867 Romania Political Context
The centre of present-day Transylvania is integrated into the Hungarian kingdom after the creation of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Partium and Banat had already been included in Hungary.
1867 Romania Economy And Trade
4 May: proclamation of the law for the introduction of a new monetary system and for the issuing of national coins; 1870 is the year when the first Romanian coins are minted in Romania having previously been minted abroad.
1867 Romania Rediscovering The Past
The Pietroasa Treasure is displayed at the International Exposition in Paris.
1867 Romania International Exhibitions
On the occasion of the International Exposition of Paris a book with information about Romania’s agriculture, commerce, industry and resources is published in Paris by a commission coordinated by Alexandru Odobescu.
1868 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
29 April: the Romanian Philharmonic Society is founded by conductor Eduard Wachmann with the aim of organising a permanent symphony orchestra. The inaugural concert takes place in the same year on 15 December.
1869 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
Timi#oara is the first city in Romania to use horse-drawn trams for public transportation. In Bucharest they are introduced in 1871.
1869 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
Installation of the first public telephone line in Romania (in Bucharest between the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Central Post Office).
1871 Romania Rediscovering The Past
Alexandru Odobescu sends an archaeological questionnaire to teachers all over the country, who have to return information about archaeological discoveries or vestiges of antique monuments existing in the areas where they live or work. Date Country Theme
1873 Romania Travelling
The first tourism organisation from Romania, called the Alpine Association of Transylvania, is founded in Bra#ov.
1873 Romania International Exhibitions
Two Romanians are members of the international jury of the Vienna International Exposition: agronomist and economist P.S. Aurelian and doctor Carol Davila.
1874 Romania Reforms And Social Changes
Issue of the first sanitation law in the United Principalities. The sanitation system is organised hierarchically and a Superior Medical Council, with a consultative role, is created.
1874 Romania Rediscovering The Past
18 April: decree for the founding of the Commission of Public Monuments to record the public monuments on Romanian territory and to ensure their conservation.
1875 - 1893 Romania Political Context
Creation of the first Romanian political parties: the Liberal Party (1875), the Conservative Party (1880), the Radical-Democratic Party (1888), and the Social- Democratic Party of Romanian Labourers (1893).
1876 Romania Fine And Applied Arts
19 February: birth of the great Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncu#i, author of sculptures such as Mademoiselle Pogany, The Kiss, Bird in Space, and The Endless Column. His works are today exhibited in museums in France, the USA and Romania.
1876 Romania Reforms And Social Changes
Foundation of the Romanian Red Cross.
1877 - 1882 Romania Fine And Applied Arts
Ion Georgescu, considered to be the first Romanian modern sculptor, studies in Paris, where he exhibits his first works.
1877 - 1881 Romania Political Context
After Parliament declares Romania’s independence (May 1877), Romania participates alongside Russia in the Russian-Ottoman war. The Congress of Berlin (1878) recognises the independence of Romania, which receives the greater part of Dobruja, but cedes the south of Bessarabia to Russia. In March 1881 Romania is proclaimed a kingdom. Prince Carol and his wife Elizabeth are crowned as King and Queen of Romania in May in Bucharest.
1879 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion Date Country Theme
18–20 January: the National Theatre of Bucharest premieres the comedy A Stormy Night by Ion Luca Caragiale, the greatest Romanian playwright. It is Caragiale’s first staged play and is a great public success.
1880 Romania Rediscovering The Past
Grigore Tocilescu’s book Dacia before the Romans is awarded the grand prize of the Academic Society, for the best work on the history of Dacia before the Roman conquest.
1880 Romania Economy And Trade
29 April: promulgation of the law for the founding of the National Bank of Romania.
1882 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces
In Bucharest the first electric generators are installed and used to illuminate some important buildings of the city (the Royal Palace, the Cotroceni Palace, the National Theatre), Victory Avenue and Ci#migiu Park.
1882 - 1888 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces
Swiss engineers Carl Culmann and Arnold Burkly-Ziegler are contracted to develop a water supply network for Bucharest.
1882 Romania Rediscovering The Past
Grigore Tocilescu begins to research the remains of the Roman town Tropaeum Traiani (modern Adamclisi in Dobruja).
1883 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
6 June: the death of Romanian composer Ciprian Porumbescu, at the age of only 29. One of the melodies he composed will be adopted for Albania’s national anthem in 1912.
1883 (18 October) - 1883 (30 Romania Political Context October)
30 October: by signing a treaty with Austro-Hungary, to which Germany adheres the same day and Italy in 1888, Romania becomes part of the Triple Alliance.
1884 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The inauguration of the first railway line (Buz#u–M#r##e#ti) designed and built by Romanian engineers.
1884 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces
12 October: Timi#oara is the first European city where electric street lighting is introduced not only on some streets, but also across the entire city. An electric plant is built and 731 incandescent lamps with coal filament installed, covering an area of 10 km2. Date Country Theme
1885 Romania Music, Literature, Dance And Fashion
8 May: The renowned Romanian soprano Hariclea Darclée makes her debut at the Paris Opéra, as Marguerite in Charles Gounod’s Faust.
1889 Romania International Exhibitions
The two Romanian pavilions at the International Exposition in Paris – a restaurant and a pavilion for wine tasting – are built by architect Ion Mincu, who uses elements of traditional rustic Romanian architecture.
1889 - 1900 Romania Rediscovering The Past
Archaeologist Alexandru Odobescu publishes in France a book about the Pietroasa Treasure (a historical description and a study on antique silver work).
1890 - 1892 Romania Cities And Urban Spaces
In Bucharest a fire tower is built from the plans of the chief architect of the city, George Mandrea. It is both a watchtower, used by firemen to keep the city under observation to rapidly intervene in case of a fire, and a reservoir for water distribution in the eastern part of Bucharest.
1892 - 1895 Romania Political Context
In 1892 a delegation of 237 Romanians sends Emperor Franz Joseph a Memorandum protesting against the discriminatory effects of the union of Transylvania with Hungary (1867). In 1893 the signatories of the petition are sent for trial at the end of which, in May 1894, they are sentenced to prison. However, in 1895 the Emperor amnesties them.
1895 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
The Romanian Maritime Service, the first civil naval institution of Romania, is founded. It is intended to buy and build ships and it ensures passenger and freight transportation on the route Br#ila–Constan#a–Istanbul, later extended to Alexandria and to ports on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean: Pireu, Smyrna, Haifa and Beirut.
1895 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
9 December: the first electric tramway is introduced in Bucharest.
1895 Romania Economy And Trade
Promulgation of the Mining Law, which stipulates separation between the ownership of land and of the subsoil resources, which, except for oil, belong to the state. Concessions of oil exploitation by the state (in cases where the owner of the land did not want to do it) are regulated.
1897 Romania Fine And Applied Arts Date Country Theme
The National School of Architecture is founded as a section of the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest. It becomes an independent institution in 1904, under the name the Superior School of Architecture.
1897 - 1899 Romania Travelling
Romanian biologist and speleologist Emil Racovi## participates in the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, the first winter research expedition in the Antarctica region.
1898 - 1899 Romania Travelling
Bazil G. Assan is the first Romanian to go on an expedition around the world, taking the route Constan#a–Istanbul–Cairo–Ceylon–China–Japan–Pacific Ocean– USA–Europe.
1900 Romania International Exhibitions
At the International Exposition in Paris, Romania has four pavilions, the central one designed by French architect Jean-Camille Formigé.
1900 Romania Travelling
Al. Saabner-Tuduri publishes a book on the Mineral Waters and the Spas of Romania, the first paper about Romanian balneology, which used to be a very important component of Romanian tourism.
1905 - 1907 Romania Travelling
The construction of the seaside resort Mamaia, on the shore of the Black Sea, which became and remains one of the most popular Romanian resorts.
1906 Romania Great Inventions Of The 19th Century
18 March: Romanian pilot and inventor Traian Vuia tests in France (near Paris) his heavier-than-air, fully self-propelled, fixed-wing aircraft. The plane leaves the ground and flies at a height of 1 m for a distance of about 12 m, but the engine cuts out and it comes down.
1910 Romania Rediscovering The Past
27 April: the establishment of the Historical Commission of Romania, which is intended to publish critical editions of the Romanian medieval chronicles.