Victor Anestin (; 17 September 1875 – 5 November 1918) was a Romanian journalist, science popularizer, astronomer and science fiction writer.
Biography
Born in
Bacău
Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...
, Victor Anestin was the son of actor Ion Anestin. He graduated high school in
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
and went on to work for some measly wages as
proof reader
Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication.
Professional
Traditional ...
for various
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 ...
newspapers.Manolescu, p.218
As an astronomer, he made a few original observations over planet
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
and published several articles in foreign journals such as ''
La Nature
''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, a ...
'', '' Monthly Register'' and '' L'Astronomie''.
Between 1907 and 1912, he published the first Romanian astronomical journal, ''Orion'' and in 1908, he was the founder of the ''Societatea astronomică română "Camille Flammarion"''. In 1912, Anestin became the director of the ''Ziarul Călătoriilor'', which he renamed in ''Ziarul ştiinţelor populare'' ("Journal of Popular Sciences") and its circulation rose to 15,000. Together with C. I. Istrati, he founded ''Universitatea Populară din București'' in 1912 and at the end of the year 1913, he founded the ''Prietenii Ṣtiinţei'' association.Manolescu, p.219
Legacy
Anestin wrote three science fiction novels and a large number of articles and over a hundred booklets about science.
In his novel ''A Celestial Tragedy'' (published in February 1914), Anestin has one of the earliest descriptions of the possibility of using the atomic power for war purposes, being published in the same year as
The World Set Free
''The World Set Free'' is a novel written in 1913 and published in 1914 by H. G. Wells. The book is based on a prediction of a more destructive and uncontrollable sort of weapon than the world has yet seen. It had appeared first in serialised ...
''.
Ion Hobana
Ion Hobana (25 January 1931, Sânnicolau Mare – 22 February 2011, Bucharest) was a Romanian science fiction writer, literary critic and ufologist
Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe ...
* ''În anul 4000 sau O călătorie la Venus'' (''In the year 4000, or A trip to Venus'', 1899, not to be confused with John Munro's ''A Trip to Venus'', 1897)
* ''O tragedie cerească, Poveste astronomică'' (''A Celestial Tragedy, An Astronomical Story'', 1914)
* ''Puterea ştiinţei, sau Cum a fost omorât Răsboiul European, Poveste fantastică'' (''The Power of Science, or How was the European War Killed'', Fantasy Story, 1916)
* ''Camille Flammarion'' (1901)
* ''Haralamb Lecca, autor dramatic. Studiu critic'' (1901)
* ''Cucerirea aerului'' (1909)
* ''Stelele. Notiuni populare de astronomie'' (1909)
* ''Astronomie populară'' (traducere din limba engleză după H. Macpherson, 1909)
* ''Vine cometa Halley'' (1909)
* ''Ce sunt cometele'' (1910)
* ''Planeta Marte este ea locuită?'' (1910)
* ''Giordano Bruno. Viața și opera lui'' (1911)
* ''Newton și Atracțiunea universală'' (1911)
* ''In lumea spiritelor'' (1911)
* ''Observațiuni astronomice. Planeta Venus în 1911'' (1911)
* ''Venus diurna'' (1911)
* ''Eclipsele sau Întunecimile de Soare și de Lună'' (1912)
* ''Romanul cerului - astronomie pentru toti'' (1912)
* ''Studii astronomice - rasaritul si apusul astrelor'' (1913)
* ''Cum să înveți stelele - Cu 28 de hărți cerești în text'', Casa Școalelor, București, 1913
* ''Cum să înveți stelele - Cu 28 de hărți cerești în text'', Casa Școalelor, (Ediția a II-a, 1922 / 1923), București
* ''Cum să înveți stelele - Cu 27 de hărți cerești în text'', Ediția a III-a comentată, revizuită și adăugită de Mircea Pteancu și Dan-George Uza, Editura Astromix, Cluj-Napoca 2021, 252 de pagini, ISBN 978-606-95123-1-9
* ''O tragedie cerească, Poveste astronomică'' (1914) (roman științifico-fantastic)
* ''Eclipsele de soare'' (191
* ''Știința și Morala'' (1915)
* ''Viața și invețiunile lui Edison'' (1915)
* ''Căpitanul Scott la Polul Sud'' (1915)
* ''Ce trebue să citim'' (1915)
* ''Viata și opera lui William Herschel'' (1915)
* ''Femeile învățate'' (1915)
* ''Visele. După Flammarion'' (1916)
* ''Puterea științei, sau Cum a fost omorât Răsboiul European, Poveste fantastică'' (1916) (roman științifico-fantastic)
* ''Povestea stiintei'' (1916)
* ''Eroii științei'' (1916)
* ''Cutremurele de Pămînt'' (1916)
* ''Minunile naturei. Razele x și radiul, după Ch. Gibson și Ramsay'' (1916)
* ''Povestea vulcanilor după St. Meunier, Flammarion și Guillemin'' (1916)
* ''Povești astronomice'' (1916)
* ''Se va stinge soarele? Soarele după astronomia modernă'' (1916)
* ''Amintiri din teatru'' (1918)
* ''Viata anecdotica a invatatilor ilustri''
* ''Viata si opera celebrilor exploratori'' (1922)
* ''Calatorii extraordinare'' (1922)
* ''Cum sa inveti stelele'' (1922)
* ''Stelele'' (1930)
* ''Savanti si inventatori care au schimbat cursul lumii'' (2010)
* ''O tragedie cereasca. Puterea stiintei'' (2010)