Ștefan Gheorghiu (15 January 1879 – 19 March 1914) 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, and ...

n trade unionist. Born to Năstase, a carpenter in

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commune ...

, he entered the socialist movement and became a member of his native city's Workers' Club. After the leaders of the

Romanian Social-Democratic Workers' Party The Social Democratic Workers' Party of Romania (, PSDMR), established in 1893, was the first modern socialist political party in Romania. A Marxist organization, the PSDMR was part of the Second International and sent its representatives to the f ...

entered the National Liberal Party in 1899, he struggled to reorganise the workers' movement. In 1903 he went by foot to

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 of ...

to participate in a workers' protest in the

Cișmigiu Gardens The Cișmigiu Gardens or Cișmigiu Park ( ro, Grădinile Cișmigiu or Parcul Cișmigiu, links=) are a public park in the center of Bucharest, Romania, spanning areas on all sides of an artificial lake. The gardens' creation was an important mome ...

. He played an important role in setting up trade unions and was one of the promoters of the General Conference of Trade Unions in 1906. During the 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt, he was an outspoken defender of the peasants; arrested as an instigator of opposition, he was detained at prisons in Ploiești and Galați. Upon release, he went to Brăila, where he met

Panait Istrati Panait Istrati (; sometimes rendered as ''Panaït Istrati''; August 10, 1884 – April 16, 1935) was a Romanian working class writer, who wrote in French and Romanian, nicknamed ''The Maxim Gorky of the Balkans''. Istrati appears to be the ...

. Gheorghiu was a member and leader of the "Working Romania" Socialist Circles and one of the founders of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

in 1910. He protested against Romania's participation in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...

and published the manifesto ''War against War'' before dying, aged 35, of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

in Bucharest's . He was buried in Ploiești in a civil funeral. The

Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy The Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy (Romanian: ''Academia Ștefan Gheorghiu'', in full: ''Academia de învăţămînt social-politic Ștefan Gheorghiu de pe lîngă CC al PCR'' - approx. ''Ștefan Gheorghiu Academy for Socio-Political Education in Rel ...

was named in his honour in 1946.

References

* Lane, A. T. ''Biographical Dictionary of European Labor Leaders'', p. 348.

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(1995), {{DEFAULTSORT:Gheorghiu, Stefan 1879 births 1914 deaths People from Ploiești Romanian trade unionists Social Democratic Party of Romania (1910–1918) politicians 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Romania Romanian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Romania