
Constantin I. Istrati (7 September 1850 – 17 January 1919) was a
Romanian chemist and physician. He was president of the
Romanian Academy between 1913 and 1916.
He was born in 1850 in
Roman,
Moldavia (now in
Neamț County,
Romania). He studied at the
Academia Mihăileană in
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
, after which he went to
Bucharest to study at the
University of Medicine and Pharmacy, graduating in 1869, and obtaining his
M.D. in 1877. After collaborating with
Carol Davila, Istrati pursued his studies for three years at the
University of Paris, where he obtained in 1885 a
Ph.D. in Chemistry under the direction of
Charles Adolphe Wurtz and
Charles Friedel, with thesis ''On colored ethylbenzene and some observations about boiling points in the aromatic series''.

In 1883 he was named Professor of Physics at the
School of Bridges and Roads in Bucharest, replacing
Emanoil Bacaloglu. On April 1, 1889, Istrati was elected corresponding member of the
Romanian Academy. Istrati later became a professor at the University of Bucharest, where he introduced the teaching of organic chemistry.
He served as Minister of Public Works in the first government of
Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (April 11, 1899 to January 9, 1900), and as Minister of Agriculture, Industry, Trade and Domains in the second Cantacuzino government (February 26 to March 12, 1907).
Istrati died in
Paris in 1919. He is buried at
Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest;
next to his tomb there is a bust of him, designed by the sculptor
Raffaello Romanelli
Raffaello Romanelli (13 May 1856 – 3 April 1928) was an Italian sculptor, born in Florence, Italy.
The son of Florentine sculptor Pasquale Romanelli, Raffaello is fore-mostly known for his monuments and portrait busts dedicated to noteworthy ...
.
Bibliography
* , 1962-1964
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Istrati, Constantin
1850 births
1919 deaths
People from Roman, Romania
Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni
University of Paris alumni
Academic staff of the Politehnica University of Bucharest
Academic staff of the University of Bucharest
Presidents of the Romanian Academy
Romanian chemists
19th-century Romanian physicians
20th-century Romanian physicians
Romanian Ministers of Culture
Romanian Ministers of Education
Romanian Ministers of Public Works
Romanian Ministers of Industry and Commerce
Burials at Bellu Cemetery