Vintilă Ciocâlteu (; April 12, 1890 – February 3, 1947) was a Romanian

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, researcher, professor, and author.

Biography

He was born in

Plenița Plenița is a Commune in Romania, commune in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania with a population of 4,156 people as of 2021. It is composed of two villages, Castrele Traiane and Plenița. The locality was a town until 1950. It is located in the wester ...

Dolj County Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)-Jiu River, Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to ''Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county (județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova. Demographics In 2011, ...

, Romania, the son of the teacher Mihai Ciocâlteu. He attended high school in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

, and he graduated the

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

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 ...

in 1920. Ciocâlteu distinguished himself throughout medical school and was active in the leadership of the student association. Due to his brilliant academic results, he was selected as the recipient of a Rockefeller grant to further his studies at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. There, in collaboration with Otto Folin he co-developed the chemical reactive known as the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (FCR). He returned to Romania as a professor at the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, where he laid the foundation of the biochemistry lab. He also set up his own additional private research lab in the vacant former Royal Stables. His credentials combined with the professorial and research activity led to the prestigious nomination as Dean of the medical school. As an author, he published two poetry volumes and is mentioned in

George Călinescu George Călinescu (; 19 June 1899 – 12 March 1965) was a Romanian literary critic, historian, novelist, academician and journalist, and a writer of classicist and humanist tendencies. He is currently considered one of the most important Romani ...

’s ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini pîna în prezent'' ("History of Romanian Literature From Its Origins to Nowadays"). In 1945, at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the subsequent advent of the communist era, Ciocâlteu fell out of favor with the new political regime. Progressive intellectuals were not to be trusted, especially those who maintained an independent attitude and were "molded" abroad, and therefore "tainted" by western influence. Many paid with their lives and/or suffered savage years of internment as political detainees for such mistrust. Ciocâlteu was possibly headed for a similar fate when, in 1947 in the purest Stalinist style, he was summarily and without warning "purged" from chairing the biochemistry department – his very creation and gift to generations – in front of the professorial council. The shock and humiliation caused him to have a massive heart attack that killed him on the spot, in front of his dumbstruck and tacitly sympathetic peers. The events generated a wave of impotent revolt and frustration among the dean's real constituency – his students – that continued to hold him in their highest esteem.

Memorial

An inscription in the Great Hall of the Faculty commemorates his legacy.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciocalteu, Vintila 1890 births 1947 deaths People from Dolj County Romanian biochemists Romanian male poets Harvard Medical School alumni 20th-century Romanian poets 20th-century Romanian male writers Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy alumni Academic staff of the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Romanian university and college faculty deans