Ștefan Emilian (August 8, 1819 – November 1899) was an Imperial Austrian-born

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n mathematician and architect. Born in Bonchida, Kolozs County (now

Bonțida Bonțida (; , , transl. "Bonc's bridge"; ) is a commune in Cluj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Bonțida, Coasta (''Gyulatelke''), Răscruci (''Válaszút''), and Tăușeni (''Marokháza''). Geography The commune ...

Cluj County Cluj County () is a county () of Romania, in Transylvania. Its seat is Cluj-Napoca. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian it is known as ''Kolozs megye''. Under the Kingdom of Hungary, a county with an identical name (Kolozs County, ) existed s ...

), in the Principality of Transylvania, he was given the surname ''Kertész'' as a child, although his birth name was ''Emilian''. He attended high school in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

. Then, from 1841 to 1845, he studied at the

Academy of Fine Arts Vienna The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna () is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. Founded in 1688 as a private academy, it is now a public university. The academy is also known for twice rejecting admission to a young Adolf Hitler in 1907 and 1908. ...

, graduating with an architect's degree. Additionally, from 1841 to 1843, he took courses at the Vienna Polytechnic Institute. Emilian returned home shortly before 1848, in time for the Transylvanian Revolution. Pursued by the authorities, he sought refuge in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

. By 1850, he was back in Transylvania, where he taught mathematics at

Brașov Brașov (, , ; , also ''Brasau''; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the county seat (i.e. administrative centre) of Brașov County. According to the 2021 Romanian census, ...

's Greek Orthodox High School. He remained there until 1858, a period during which he designed the new school building. Additionally, he was the architect for the first paper factory in

Zărnești Zărnești (; ; ) is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania, with a population of 21,624 as of 2021. It administers one village, Tohanu Nou (''Neu-Tohan''; ''Újtohán''). The town is located near the Piatra Craiului Mountains, which ...

.Ionel Maftei, ''Personalități ieșene'', vol. I, pp. 229–30. Comitetul de cultură și educație socialistă al județului Iași, 1972 In 1858, he was invited to

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, the capital of

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

, in order to teach drawing and geometry to the upper classes of '' Academia Mihăileană''. Emilian remained there for two years, until the founding of the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

. Additionally, he taught at the military officers' school and the technical school of arts and professions. At the new university, he was named full professor of

descriptive geometry Descriptive geometry is the branch of geometry which allows the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions by using a specific set of procedures. The resulting techniques are important for engineering, architecture, design an ...

and linear perspective, remaining from October 1860 to October 1892, when he had to retire. Meanwhile, he designed the Iași anatomy institute, the Lipovan Church, and the church in Bosia. A single published book of his is known: the 1886 ''Curs practic de perspectivă liniară''. Emilian's funeral eulogy was delivered by Alexandru Dimitrie Xenopol. He married Cornelia Ederlly de Medve.Ionela Băluță, "Apariția femeii ca actor social – a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea", in ''Direcții și teme de cercetare în studiile de gen din România'', p. 71. Bucharest: Editura Colegiul Noua Europă, 2003,

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emilian, Stefan 1819 births 1899 deaths People from Cluj County 19th-century Romanian people in Transylvania Mathematicians from the Austrian Empire Emigrants from the Austrian Empire Romanian mathematicians Romanian architects Romanian schoolteachers Romanian revolutionaries Romanian textbook writers Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Geometers