Vincențiu Babeș (also known in , 21 January 1821 – 22 January 1907) was an ethnic

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

lawyer, teacher, journalist and politician from

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and one of the founding members of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

. He was born in 1821 in Hodony village, Temes County,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(present day Hodoni,

Timiș County Timiș () is a county (''județ'') of western Romania on the border with Hungary and Serbia, in the historical regions of Romania, historical region of Banat, with the county seat at Timișoara. It is the westernmost and the largest county in Ro ...

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 ...

), in the

Banat Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...

. His father, Gheorghe Crâșmarul, died when he was young; he was then adopted by his grandfather, Mitra Babeș. After finishing primary school, Vincențiu Babeș attended German-language high schools, first in Temesvár, then in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, where he took the baccalaureate in 1841. After that he attended theology courses in Karlóca and the Seminary in Arad. As he approached becoming a priest, Babeș changed his mind and enrolled at the Faculty of Law of

Royal University of Pest Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, from which he graduated with a law degree in 1848. Babeș then returned to Arad, where he worked first as a teacher and then as an inspector of the Romanian schools. He was then sent to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, together with other trusted men, as an advocate for the defense of the interests of the diocese of Arad and of the Romanian people from

Maros-Torda County Maros-Torda was an administrative county ( comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania) and has been administratively succeeded by county Mureș which consist of about half the territory o ...

and

Crișana Crișana (, , ) is a geographical and historical region of Romania named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Romania, the term is sometimes extended to include areas ...

. After settling in Vienna, he worked at the Supreme Court of Justice. In 1851 he married Sophia Goldschneider, with whom he had 9 children, the best known of which was

Victor Babeș Victor Babeș (; 28 July 1854 in Vienna – 19 October 1926 in Bucharest) was a Romanian physician, bacteriologist, academician and professor. One of the founders of modern microbiology, Victor Babeș is author of one of the first treatises of ba ...

. In 1862 he moved to

, where he practiced law, became involved in politics, and died in 1907. In 1937 his remains were brought back to his native village; his resting place is near the church in Hodoni. Streets are named after him in Arad,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, Moșnița Veche, and

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. A gymnasium and a high school in Timișoara also bear his name.

References

1821 births 1907 deaths People from Timiș County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Austrian people of Romanian descent Members of the Romanian Orthodox Church Romanian National Party politicians Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1865–1869) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1869–1872) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1872–1875) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1875–1878) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1878–1881) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1881–1884) Members of the House of Representatives of Hungary (1884–1887) Romanian writers Austrian male writers Romanian-language poets Romanian male poets Writers from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Romanian poets 19th-century Romanian male writers Eötvös Loránd University alumni Founding members of the Romanian Academy {{Austria-writer-stub