Events from the year 1916 in Romania.

Incumbents

*King:

Ferdinand I of Romania Ferdinand (Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad; 24 August 1865 – 20 July 1927), nicknamed ''Întregitorul'' ("the Unifier"), was King of Romania from 1914 until his death in 1927. Ferdinand was the second son of Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern and ...

*Prime Minister: Ion I. C. Brătianu

Events

*August 27 – Romania declares war on Austria-Hungary. The Romanian Army begins an offensive in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. *August 27-November 26 –

Battle of Transylvania The Battle of Transylvania was the first major operation of the Romanian forces Campaign during World War I, beginning on 27 August 1916. It started as an attempt by the Romanian Army to seize Transylvania, and potentially knock Austria-Hungary ...

- Although initially successful, the offensive was brought to a halt after Bulgaria's attack on

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

. Coupled with a successful German and Austro-Hungarian

counterattack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...

after September 18, the Romanian Army was eventually forced to retreat back to the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The ...

by late October. *September 2–6 –

Battle of Turtucaia The Battle of Turtucaia ( ro, Bătălia de la Turtucaia; bg, Битка при Тутракан, ''Bitka pri Tutrakan''), also known as Tutrakan Epopee ( bg, Тутраканска епопея, ''Tutrakanska epopeya'') in Bulgaria, was the openi ...

*September 5–7 –

Battle of Dobrich The Battle of Bazargic, also known as the Battle of Dobrich or the Dobrich epopee ( bg, Добричка епопея), took place between 5 and 7 September 1916 between a joint Bulgarian–German force, consisting mainly of the Bulgarian Third ...

*September 17–19 –

First Battle of Cobadin The First Battle of Cobadin, also known as the First Battle of the Rasova–Cobadin–Tuzla Line, was a battle fought from 17 to 19 of September 1916 between the Bulgarian Third Army and the Romanian–Russian Army of the Dobruja. The battle end ...

*September 29-October 5 –

Flămânda Offensive The Flămânda Offensive (or Flămânda Maneuver), which took place during World War I between 29 September and 5 October 1916, was an offensive across the Danube mounted by the Romanian Third Army (Romania), 3rd Army supported by Romanian coastal ...

*October 19–25 –

Second Battle of Cobadin The Second Battle of Cobadin was a battle fought from 19 to 25 October 1916 between the Central Powers, chiefly the Bulgarian Third Army, and the Entente, represented by the Russo–Romanian Dobruja Army. The battle ended in a decisive victor ...

*November 25 – The entire state apparatus is evacuated from

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 ...

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

in anticipation of the

Battle of Bucharest The Battle of Bucharest, also known as the '' Argeş–Neajlov Defensive Operation'' in Romania, was the last battle of the Romanian Campaign of 1916 in World War I, in which the Central Powers' combatants, led by General Erich von Falkenhayn, ...

. *November 25 – December 6 -

*November 28 – Prunaru Charge *December 1 –

Battle of the Argeș The Battle of the Argeș was a battle of the Romanian Campaign of World War I. Taking place on 1 December 1916, the battle was fought along the line of the Argeș River in Romania between Austro-German forces of the Central Powers and Romanian f ...

*December 6 – After the fall of Bucharest, Iași becomes the country's wartime capital, holding this position until the end of the war. *December 25 – The law transferring the

Romanian Treasure The Romanian Treasure ( ro, Tezaurul României) is a collection of valuable objects and the gold reserves (~120 tonnes) of the Romanian government sent to Russia for safekeeping during World War I. After the Romanian Army entered Bessarabia, at ...

to Moscow for safekeeping is passed. The Treasure would never entirely return to Romania.

Births

* January 16 –

Elena Ceaușescu Elena Ceaușescu (; ; 7 January 1916 – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician who was the wife of Nicolae Ceaușescu, General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party and leader of the Socialist Republic of Romania. She was also ...

, communist politician and wife of

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...

* February 6 – Gabriel Țepelea, politician, intellectual, political prisoner, and honorary member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

. * April 17 – Magda Isanos, lawyer, poet, and writer. * May 4 –

Alexander Ratiu Father Alexander Ratiu ( ro, Rațiu; 4 May 1916 – 25 July 2002) was a Romanian-American priest of the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church. While serving in his family's country of origin, he became a political prisoner, and later, after his release, ...

, priest, political prisoner, and author (died

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

). * May 12 –

Constantin Ciopraga Constantin is an Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Romanian male given name. It can also be a surname. For a list of notable people called Constantin, see Constantine (name). See also * Constantine (name) * Konstantin The first name Konstant ...

, literary historian and critic, writer and honorary member of the Romanian Academy. * August 9 –

Manea Mănescu Manea Mănescu (9 August 1916 – 27 February 2009) was a Romanian communist politician who served as Prime Minister for five years (27 February 1974 – 29 March 1979) during Nicolae Ceaușescu's Communist regime. His father was a Communist Par ...

, communist politician who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

from 1974 to 1979 (died

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

). * August 10 –

Filimon Sârbu Filimon Sârbu (August 10, 1916 – July 19, 1941) was a Romanian communist activist and anti-fascist militant executed by the pro-Nazi authorities during World War II. After the war, he was acclaimed as a hero by the communist government. ...

, Romanian communist activist and

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

militant executed by the pro-Nazi authorities during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was later acclaimed as a hero by the

communist government A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

. * August 10 –

Ioan Dicezare Ioan Dicezare (August 12, 1916 in Bucharest – August 10, 2012 in Bucharest Claudiu Pacearcă''Doliu în aviația românească. A murit Generalul Ioan Dicezare, unul dintre ultimii piloți de vânătoare români din al doilea Război Mondia ...

, fighter pilot and flying ace in World War II (died

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

). * August 18 –

Neagu Djuvara Neagu Bunea Djuvara (; 18 August 1916 – 25 January 2018) was a Romanian historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. Biography Early life A native of Bucharest, he was descended from an aristocratic Aromanian family ...

, historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist, diplomat and centenarian. * November 7 –

Mihai Șora Mihai Șora (; born 7 November 1916) is a Romanian philosopher and essayist. Biography Șora was born in Remetea Mare, Ianova, Timiș County, the son of an Romanian Orthodox Church, Orthodox priest. He studied philosophy at the University of ...

, philosopher, essayist, centenarian and honorary member of the Romanian Academy. (died

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

) * November 18 – Alexandru Dragomir, philosopher and student of Heidegger.

Deaths

*March 2 –

Queen Elisabeth of Romania Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise of Wied (29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marriage to then-Pr ...

, also known as Elisabeth of Wied and under her literary pseudonym, Carmen Sylva. *June 28 –

Ștefan Luchian Ștefan Luchian (, last name also spelled Lukian; 1 February 1868 – 28 June 1916) was a Romanian painter, famous for his landscapes and still life works. Biography Early life Luchian was born in Ștefănești, a village of Botoșani County, ...

, painter, famous for his

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of Terrestrial ecoregion, land, its landforms, and how they integrate with Nature, natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionar ...

and

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

works, of the most important artists of ''

Fin de siècle () is a French term meaning "end of century,” a phrase which typically encompasses both the meaning of the similar English idiom "turn of the century" and also makes reference to the closing of one era and onset of another. Without context ...

'' Romania. *October 13 –

David Praporgescu David Praporgescu (13 December 1865 – 13 October 1916) was a Romanian brigadier general during World War I, who was killed in action at the start of the Battle of the Southern Carpathians. Biography Early life He was born in Turnu Măgurele, ...

, brigadier general, killed in action at the

Battle of the Southern Carpathians The Battle of the Southern Carpathians was a major operation during the Romanian Campaign of World War I. The brainchild of German General Erich von Falkenhayn, the operation consisted in an attempt by the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hung ...

(born

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

). *November 9 –

Ion Dragalina Ioan Dragalina (16 December 1860 – 9 November 1916) was a Romanian general, who died during the World War I in the First Battle of the Jiu Valley. Dragalina was born in the city of Karansebesch (now Caransebeș, Romania), which at the time ...

, general who died during World War I in the Battle of the Jiu Valley (born

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

References

{{Years in the Kingdom of Romania Years of the 20th century in Romania 1910s in Romania

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...