Christian Tell (January 12, 1808 - February 4/16, 1884) was a

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 ...

n-born

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

n and Romanian general and politician.

Life and activity

He was born in

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 popu ...

on January 12, 1808. He studied at the

Saint Sava National College The Saint Sava National College (Romanian: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''), Bucharest, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. It was founded in 1694, under the name of t ...

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 ...

, where he had

Gheorghe Lazăr Gheorghe Lazăr (5 June 1779 – 17 September 1823), born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian, later Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school in Bucharest, 1817. Biography A Habsburg Empire subject, ...

and

Ion Heliade Rădulescu Ion Heliade Rădulescu or Ion Heliade (also known as ''Eliade'' or ''Eliade Rădulescu''; ; January 6, 1802 – April 27, 1872) was a Wallachian, later Romanian academic, Romanticism, Romantic and Classicism, Classicist poet, essayist, mem ...

as teachers. He was influenced by Ion Heliade Rădulescu, sharing his moderate approach, regarding the national affirmation of Romanians. Christian Tell was enrolled in the military forces of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, fighting in the

Russo-Turkish War (1828–29) The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

, where he received the rank of captain. In 1830, he entered the newly formed army of the Romanian Country, constantly advancing in the military ranks. In 1834 he married Târșița Ștefănescu, the daughter of a small Oltic boyar.Christian Tell, Articol de la 14 februarie 2009
/ref> In 1843, together with

Ion Ghica Ion Ghica (; 12 August 1816 – 7 May 1897) was a Romanian statesman, mathematician, diplomat and politician, who was Prime Minister of Romania five times. He was a full member of the Romanian Academy and its president many times (1876–1882, ...

and

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother's ...

, he established the foundations of the Bucharest

secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

Brotherhood society - which was the engine of the revolution from 1848. He also supported in 1857 the election of

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...

MPs for the

ad hoc Divan The two Ad hoc Divans were legislative{{cn, date=February 2017 and consultative assemblies of the Danubian Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia), vassals of the Ottoman Empire. They were established by the Great Powers under the Treaty of Par ...

. At the outbreak of the revolution of 1848, Christian Tell mobilized the troops he commanded in support of the revolutionaries in the Romanian Country, becoming known as the "sword of the revolution". He was present at the meeting on June 9, 1848, which issued the

Proclamation of Islaz The Proclamation of Islaz () was the program adopted on 9 June 1848 by Romanian revolutionaries during the Wallachian Revolution of 1848. It was written by Ion Heliade Rădulescu and publicly read at the small port town of Islaz in southern Wa ...

, being named among the five members of the provisional government established at that time. Christian Tell was also part of the new provisional government established in Bucharest, and after July 19, 1848, he was a member of the royal lieutenant (together with

and

Nicolae Golescu Nicolae Golescu (1810–1877) was a Wallachian Romanian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Romania in 1860 and May–November 1868.James Chastain (2004). ''Golescu Brothers''. Ohio University https://www.ohio.edu/chastain/dh/golesb.ht ...

). He campaigned for the establishment and endowment of the National Guard, being promoted to the rank of general. Xenopol, A. D., ''Istoria românilor din Dacia Traiană'', Editura Cartea Românească, București, 1925 After the defeat of the revolution of 1848, Tell had a difficult period of exile in France and then on the island of Chios and Izmir, a long period of time being separated from the family and confronted, as did most Romanians in deprivation, with financial difficulties. . Together with the other two members of the royal lieutenancy, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and

, he tried to reorganize the Romanian emigration (moderate wing), sometimes conflicting with the radical wing (Brătienii, C. A. Rosetti,

). In 1857 Christian Tell returned from exile. He was an active participant (deputy, coordinator of the Central Commission from Focsani) in the Unionist movement, which

domnitor ''Domnitor'' (Romanian pl. ''Domnitori'') was the official title of the ruler of Romania between 1862 and 1881. It was usually translated as "prince" in other languages and less often as "grand duke". Derived from the Romanian word "''domn''" ...

to the double election in 1859 of

Alexandru Ioan Cuza Alexandru Ioan Cuza (, or Alexandru Ioan I, also anglicised as Alexander John Cuza; 20 March 1820 – 15 May 1873) was the first ''domnitor'' (Ruler) of the Romanian Principalities through his double election as prince of Moldavia on 5 Januar ...

and the establishment of the Romanian unitary state. . Tell supported the ruler in his efforts to strengthen public authority and initiate reforms. Between December 1862 and 1866, the general became minister of education and culture, in the government of

Nicolae Kretzulescu Nicolae may refer to: * Nicolae (name), a Romanian name * ''Nicolae'' (novel), a 1997 novel See also *Nicolai (disambiguation) *Nicolao Nicolao is an Italian given name and a surname. It may refer to the following: Given name *Nicolao Civitali ...

, and once again, between 1871 and 1874, in the government led by

Lascăr Catargiu Lascăr Catargiu ( or Lascăr Catargi; 1 November 1823 – ) was a Romanian conservative statesman born in Moldavia. He belonged to an ancient Wallachian family, one of whose members had been banished in the 17th century by Prince Matei Basarab, ...

. Later, in 1876, the Liberals formed a new cabinet, while members of the Conservative government, including Tell, were sued for their actions when they were in power. The politician was acquitted and also exonerated of all the accusations brought because of his revolutionary past. The ruler in person intervened for him. Christian Tell was deeply involved in the political life after 1866, enjoying great popularity and the sincere appreciation of Carol I. In the field of concrete achievements, his political contribution was perhaps modest, but significant at the level of human relations and promoting ethical principles in political life. In his memory, his name was given to the street of Light, on which was the residence of the general. The location of this house can be seen on Bucharest's master plan of 1911. Unfortunately, the house was destroyed during communism period, and a block of flats was built instead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tell, Christian 1808 births 1884 deaths People from Brașov Conservative Party (Romania, 1880–1918) politicians Romanian Ministers of Culture Romanian Ministers of Defence Romanian Ministers of Finance Romanian Ministers of Education Romanian Ministers of Justice Members of the Ad hoc Divans Mayors of Bucharest Romanian military leaders Romanian Freemasons People of the Revolutions of 1848 Saint Sava National College alumni