WOMEN IN HISTORY - A HIDDEN STATISTICS -

ELISA LEONIDA ZAMFIRESCU (1887 – 1973) She was the first woman engineer in Europe. Some say that she was the first woman engineer in the world. Elisa Leonida Zamfirescu was the first woman member of A.G.I.R. (General Association of Romanian Engineers) and of International Association of University Women. Since 1993 a street in Bucharest bears her name.

MD, PhD at Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases RUXANDRA JURCUŢ (1975 – (1975 – Winner of Unesco L’oreal for Women in Science In the first edition of the programme, completed in June 2011, the jury awarded a scholarship worth 10,000 EUR to researcher Dr. Ruxandra Jurcuţ, who conducted a research programme in the Department of Cardiology Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases Emergency “Prof. Dr. C. C. Iliescu” in Bucharest.

ANA ASLAN (1897 – 1988) (1897 – 1988) She was a Romanian biologist and physician. She is considered to be the founding figure of gerontology and geriatrics in Romania. In 1952, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Ana Aslan, the Geriatric Institute in Bucharest was founded. This Institute was the first of its kind in Romania and was recognized by the World Health Organisation. The Gerovital H3 concept was introduced in 1957, in Verona (Italy), on the occasion of the 4th International Gerontology Congress.

ELENA STOENESCU CARAGIANI (1887 – 1929) She was the first woman pilot in Romania. Her first flight took place in 1912, accompanied by her horse riding teacher, Mircea Zorileanu, holder of a French pilot license. She entered the League of Aviation, a flying school run by Prince George Valentin Bibescu, as the only female student. She joined the School of Civil Aviation of Mourmelon le Grand led by Roger Sommer and passed all the exams and received her pilot license when she was 27 years old.

ELLA NEGRUZZI (1876 – 1948) She was recognized as the first woman lawyer in Romania. To her name is connected the manifestation for social-political rights to women and also the fight of the Romanian intellectuals against fascism and war, for freedom and the country’s independence.

MONICA LOVINESCU (1923 – 2008) She was a Romanian essayist, short story writer, literary critic, translator, and journalist, noted for her activities as an opponent of the Romanian Communist regime. Between 1951 and 1974, Monica Lovinescu was a contributor for Romanian language broadcasts of the Radio Diffusion Française, as well as a member of the station’s staff for Eastern Europe. From the 1960s onwards, she was a journalist for Radio Free Europe, creating two weekly pieces that were influential in generating an internal opposition to the regime. Their main purpose was to inform Romanians of cultural and political trends on in the Free World.

MARIE OF ROMANIA (1875, Eastwell Park, Kent – 1938 (1875, Eastwell Park, Kent – 1938) She was Queen consort of Romania from 1914 to 1927, as the wife of Ferdinand of Romania. Marie became a Romanian patriot, and her influence in the country was large. During the war, she volunteered as a Red Cross nurse to help the sick and wounded, and wrote a book titled My Country to raise funds for the Red Cross. Marie famously declared that "Romania needs a face, and I will be that face”. She was called Soldier Queen.

SOFIA IONESCU (1920 – 2008) She was a Romanian neurosurgeon and is considered one of the first female neurosurgeons in the world. In 1970, the favorite wife of the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi had become ill. As a man could not enter the harem, they needed to find a female doctor. Ionescu stayed one week at the woman’s side and cured her. As a reward the sheik gave her 2,000 dollars and an expensive piece of jewelry. The money she had to give to the state.

ŞTEFANIA MĂRINCEANU (1882 – 1944) She was a woman whose research impacted the field of radioactivity. She.... almost received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for discovering the artificial radioactivity. She is inspiring because she represents the struggles that women scientists had to face in the early 1900s in order to have an impact and be recognized in their field of research.