Events from the year 1959 in Romania. During the year, the country hosted the first

International Mathematical Olympiad The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is a mathematical olympiad for pre-university students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959. It has since been held annually, except i ...

Incumbents

* President of the Provisional Presidium of the Republic:

Ion Gheorghe Maurer Ion Gheorghe Iosif Maurer (23 September 1902 – 8 February 2000) was a Romanian communist politician and lawyer, and the 49th Prime Minister of Romania. He is the longest serving Prime Minister in the history of Romania (having served for ...

. *

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 i ...

Chivu Stoica Chivu Stoica (the family name being Chivu; 8 August 1908 – 18 February 1975) was a leading Romanian Communist politician, who served as 48th Prime Minister of Romania. Early life Stoica was born in Smeeni, Buzău County, the sixth child of a ...

. * General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party:

Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (; 8 November 1901 – 19 March 1965) was a Romanian communist politician and electrician. He was the first Communist leader of Romania from 1947 to 1965, serving as first secretary of the Romanian Communist Party ...

Events

* 31 January –

Sandu Tudor Sandu Tudor (; born Alexandru Al. Teodorescu, known in church records as Brother Agathon, later Daniil Teodorescu, Daniil Sandu Tudor, Daniil de la Rarău; December 22 or December 24, 1896 – November 17, 1962) was a Romanian poet, journalist, th ...

begins a 40-year sentence at

Jilava Prison Jilava is a commune in Ilfov county, Muntenia, Romania, near Bucharest. It is composed of a single village, Jilava. The name derives from a Romanian word of Slavic origin ( Bulgarian жилав ''žilav'' (tough), which passed into Romanian as ...

for "conspiracy against the social order" and "intense activity against the working class". * 29 May –

Sociologists This is a list of sociologists. It is intended to cover those who have made substantive contributions to social theory and research, including any sociological subfield. Scientists in other fields and philosophers are not included, unless at least ...

form a National Sociological Committee, which soon joins the

International Sociological Association The International Sociological Association (ISA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to scientific purposes in the field of sociology and social sciences. It is an international sociological body, gathering both individuals and national sociolo ...

, to encourage the development of the discipline. * July –

Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( ro, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai , hu, Babeș-Bolyai Tudományegyetem, commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. UBB has a long academic tradition, started by Universitas ...

is formed in

Cluj ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Status , subdivision_name2 = County seat , settlement_type = City , le ...

by the merger of Babeș and Bolyai Universities, which had as their languages of instruction Romanian and Hungarian respectively. * 23 July –

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

and

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 ...

jointly host the first

, which runs until 31 July. * 28 July – The Ioanid Gang allegedly steal 1.6 million lei from a

National Bank of Romania The National Bank of Romania ( ro, Banca Națională a României, BNR) is the central bank of Romania and was established in April 1880. Its headquarters are located in the capital city of Bucharest. The National Bank of Romania is responsible ...

armored car. * 28 October – The

Grand National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to: * Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania * Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of R ...

adopts Decree No 410 which abolishes many monasteries, including

Radu Vodă Monastery Radu Vodă Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery in Bucharest, Romania. History of the Place Paleolithic Because of its favorable environment and the elevated terrain close to a big river, the area of the monastery was inhabited starting f ...

Art and literature

* (''The Daring''), a novel by Marin Preda, is published.

Cinema and theatre

* Eugène Ionesco writes the play ''

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

''. * '' Mingea'' (''The Ball''), directed by Andrei Blaier and Sinișa Ivetici, is released. It is shown at the

1st Moscow International Film Festival The 1st Moscow International Film Festival was held from 3 to 17 August 1959. The Grand Prix was awarded to the Soviet film '' Destiny of a Man'' directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. Jury * Sergei Gerasimov (USSR - President of the Jury) * Antonin Br ...

Births

* 26 January – Mircea Fulger, boxer, bronze medal winner at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

. * 4 February –

Monica Macovei Monica Luisa Macovei (; born 4 February 1959) is a Romanian politician, lawyer and former prosecutor, and former Member of the European Parliament from the European Conservatives and Reformists and formerly a member of the Romanian Democratic L ...

, politician and Minister of Justice between 2004 and 2007. * 20 March –

Felicia Filip Ana Felicia Filip (; born 20 March 1959, Slatina) is a Romanian operatic soprano. She has sung in the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera and the Liceu in Barcelona. Since 2014, she is the director of the Comic Opera for Chil ...

operatic Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libret ...

soprano. * 5 April – Florica Prevenda, artist. * 28 April – Lucia Romanov-Stark, tennis player. * 1 June – Cristian Popescu, poet (died

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

). * 13 June – Klaus Iohannis, President of Romania from 2014. * 14 June – Alexandru Darie, theater director (died

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

). * 17 September –

Florentin Crihălmeanu Florentin Crihălmeanu (17 September 1959 – 12 January 2021) was a Romanian Greek Catholic hierarch. Life Born in Iași to a Greek-Catholic father and a Roman Catholic mother, he graduated from high school in Cluj-Napoca in 1978. He performed ...

, Romanian Greek Catholic bishop of Cluj-Gherla (died

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

). * 21 September – Crin Antonescu, politician, served as Acting

President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indi ...

and President of the Senate. * 6 November – Marin Gheorghe,

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

, silver medal winner at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Deaths

* 30 January –

Elena Săcălici Elena (Ileana) Săcălici-Petroşanu (1935–1959) was a Romanian artistic gymnast who represented Romania at the 1956 Olympic Games. She was a member of the team that won the first team Olympic medal (1956)Wikipedia List of Olympic medalis ...

, gymnast, member of the team that won the first Olympic and world team bronze medal for Romania, at the 1956 Summer Olympics (born 1935). * 11 February –

Ioan Bălan Ioan Bălan (11 February 1880 – 4 August 1959) was a Romanian bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church. Biography He was born in Teiuș, Alba County, the son of Ștefan Bălan and Ana, née Muntean. After graduating high school in Blaj, he studie ...

, Bishop of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church (born

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

). * 13 May –

Emil Hațieganu Emil Hațieganu (December 9, 1878—May 13, 1959) was a Romanian politician and jurist, a prominent member of the Romanian National Party (PNR) and of its successor, the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ); he was physician Iuliu Hațieganu's brother. ...

, politician and jurist (born

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Bat ...

). * 24 July –

Mihail Lascăr Mihail Lascăr (; November 8, 1889 – July 24, 1959) was a Romanian general during World War II and Romania's Minister of Defense from 1946 to 1947. He was born in Târgu Jiu, Gorj County, Kingdom of Romania, and graduated from the Infantry ...

, general during World War II and Minister of Defense from 1946 to 1947 (born

1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...

). * 24 November – Ion Gigurtu, far-right politician, officer, engineer, and industrialist who served as Prime Minister from 4 July to 4 September 1940, died at

Râmnicu Sărat Prison Râmnicu Sărat Prison is a former prison located in Râmnicu Sărat, Buzău County, Romania. The building is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs. Before World War II The prison was built at the ...

(born

1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...

). * 29 December –

Gheorghe N. Leon Gheorghe N. Leon (April 29, 1888 – December 29, 1959) was a Romanian economist and politician. Born in Iași, his father was the biologist Nicolae Leon.Gabriela Ștefan"Probe noi în cazul torționarului Alexandru Vișinescu", in ''Jurnalul Naț ...

, economist and politician, died at

(born

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

References

{{Years in the Socialist Republic of Romania Years of the 20th century in Romania 1950s in Romania 1959 in Romania

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 ...