Iuliu Moisil (May 19, 1859–January 28, 1947) was an Austrian Empire-born Romanian schoolteacher and non-fiction writer.

Biography

Born in Năsăud, in the Transylvania region, his father was the priest Grigore Moisil, while the historian

Constantin Moisil Constantin C. Moisil (December 8, 1876–October 22, 1958) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian archivist, historian, numismatist and schoolteacher. Born in Năsăud, in the Transylvania region, his grandfather Grigore Moisil was a priest; h ...

was his nephew.Pleș, p. 166 A Greek-Catholic, he attended primary school in his native town, followed by the local high school. He then enrolled in the Vienna Polytechnic, where he studied industrial chemistry and natural sciences, and where he was an active member of the '' România Jună'' society. He returned home in 1885, ventured to Austrian-ruled

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

, and in 1886 became a physics teacher at Radu Greceanu High School in Slatina, in the Romanian Old Kingdom. In 1894, he was transferred to Tudor Vladimirescu High School in

Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polata, ...

. Named principal the following year, he supervised construction of a permanent school building. He founded ''Amicul tinerimii'' magazine in 1896, leading it until 1899 and later resuming publication at Bucharest; founded ''Cerbul'' community bank in 1897 and served as its president; and helped found the Gorj museum in 1900.Pleș, p. 167 At

in 1900, he founded Oltenia's first school for traditional Romanian ceramic pottery. In 1906, Moisil moved to the national capital Bucharest, where he helped prepare that year's general exposition. From 1906 to 1910, he worked as secretary of the Ethnographic and Folk Art Museum. He then became librarian of the Pedagogic Museum in 1910, and director in 1921. A naturalized Romanian citizen from 1911, he maintained ties with Romanians in Transylvania, heading the Oltenia chapter of the

Cultural League for the Unity of All Romanians Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

from 1892. He supported the province's union with Romania, which took place in 1918.Seni and Seni, p. 48 In 1931, he returned to Năsăud; together with

Virgil Șotropa Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

and

Iulian Marțian Iulian is a masculine Romanian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Iulian Arhire (1976), Romanian former professional footballer * Iulian Dumitraș (1982), Romanian rugby union player * Iulian Filipescu (1974), former Romanian footb ...

, he helped establish the Military Frontier Museum, the town branch of the Romanian Academy library and the local chapter of the National Archives of Romania. Until the end of his life, he headed the Năsăud chapter of

ASTRA Astra may refer to: People * Astra (name) Places * Astra, Chubut, a village in Argentina * Astra (Isauria), a town of ancient Isauria, now in Turkey * Astra, one suggested name for a hypothetical fifth planet that became the asteroid belt Ent ...

. During his later years, he edited a good part of his writings on prominent local figures, publishing them in two volumes, in 1937 and 1939. He translated Helen Keller's ''

The Story of My Life The Story of My Life or Story of My Life may refer to: Literature * ''The Story of My Life'' (biography), a 1903 autobiography by Helen Keller * ''Story of My Life'' (novel), 1988 novel by Jay McInerney * ''Histoire de ma vie'' (''Story of my l ...

'' and Roy Chapman Andrews' ''On The Trail of Ancient Man''. In all, he left behind about a thousand publications on a broad range of topics.Seni and Seni, p. 49 Among the journals to which he contributed were ''Buletinul Societății Române de Geografie'', ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

'', ''Arhivele Olteniei'', ''Arhiva Someșană'' and ''Vatra''. Upon being nominated by Dimitrie Gusti, Moisil was elected an honorary member of the Romanian Academy in May 1943. He was made a knight of the Order of the Crown in 1907. In January 1887, at St. Barbara's Greek-Catholic Church in Vienna, he married Anna Emilia Othilda Schwennhagen, the German daughter of an architect from Braunschweig whom the student had probably met at a cultural event. Moisil’s father was initially wary due to the bride’s Lutheran religion, but consented after she promised to adopt the groom’s faith. The newlyweds immediately settled in Slatina, where Othilda founded a successful German kindergarten. The marriage lasted over fifty years and, according to an account left by the widowed husband, proved a very happy union.Moldovan, pp. 192-93

Notes

References

* Remus Câmpeanu, "David Prodan despre unirea religioasă a românilor ardeleni", in ''Annales Universitatis Apulensis. Series Historica'', 2002, 6, nr. 1, p. 237-52 * Lavinia Moldovan, “Un ardelean în Vechiul Regat: Iuliu Moisil (1859–1947) — considerații asupra activității de la Slatina“, in ''Revista Bistriței'', XXXIV–XXXV, 2020–2021, pp. 187–200 * Lucian Nastasă, ''Itinerarii spre lumea savanta. Tineri din spațiul românesc la studii în străinătate (1864-1944)''. Editura Limes, Cluj-Napoca, 2006, * Gheorghe Pleș, "O fructuoasă interferență - școlile Năsăudului și Academia Română", in Arhiva Someșană X/2011, p. 145-76 * Ioanela Alis Seni, Ioan Seni
"140 de ani de la înființarea Academiei Române. Academicienii năsăudeni și spiritul cărturăresc năsăudean"
in ''Revista Transilvania'', 3/2006, p. 43-53 {{DEFAULTSORT:Moisil, Iuliu 1859 births 1947 deaths People from Năsăud Romanian Austro-Hungarians Romanian Greek-Catholics TU Wien alumni Romanian magazine founders Romanian schoolteachers Romanian museologists Romanian translators Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Romania Naturalised citizens of Romania Honorary members of the Romanian Academy Knights of the Order of the Crown (Romania) 20th-century translators Writers from Austria-Hungary