Grigore Tocilescu | |
|---|---|
 Professor Grigore Tocilescu | |
| Born | 26 October 1850 (1850-10-26) |
| Died | 18 September 1909(1909-09-18) (aged 58) |
| Citizenship | Romanian |
| Known for | Marele Dicționar Geografic al României, research onDacia |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | History,Archaeology,Epigraphy,Folkloristics |
| Institutions | Romanian Academy |
Grigore George Tocilescu (26 October 1850 – 18 September 1909) was aRomanian historian, archaeologist,epigrapher andfolkorist, and member of theRomanian Academy.
He was a professor of ancient history at theUniversity of Bucharest, author ofMarele Dicționar Geografic al României (The Great Geographical Dictionary of Romania), general secretary of theRomanian Ministry of Teaching and multiple times senator, with conservative political views. Tocilescu is one of the first Romanian historians who focused on the study of civilizations in ancientDacia. As a folklorist he collaborated on the publication of afolkloristicscompendium.
After finishing primary and secondary school inPloieşti, Tocilescu went toBucharest where he graduated from theSaint Sava National College. He then studied in universities inPrague andVienna, where he obtained theDoctor of Philosophy title and the license to practice law. Back in Romania, in 1881 he became professor of ancient history and epigraphy at theUniversity of Bucharest.
In 1884 the Archaeological Seminary's Library was established through Professor Tocilescu's grant.
At the death of Romanian historian, Romantic author, academic and politicianVasile Alexandrescu Urechia, November 21, 1901, Tocilescu delivered the funeral oration.
In 1877 Tocilescu went toMoscow, to theRumyantsev Museum, where he copied the bookFrom the Beginning of the First World (De-nceputul lumiei de-ntâiu), written byMihail Moxa, and sent the copy toBogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, who published it inCuvente den batrâni ( vol. I, 1878). The work is a universal history that begins with the "creation of the world", speaks of theAssyrians,Egyptians,Persians, then passes to theRomans. It makes a brief history of theRoman Republic, after which it lists the emperors of the West and the East until the establishment of the Turkish rule in Europe and ends with the first battles of the Turks with the Romanians in 1489.[1] Later, he left for Paris to continue his studies in the French archives and libraries, aboutDimitrie Cantemir. On this occasion he attended courses at theCollège de France and theÉcole Pratique de Hautes-Etudes (Sorbonne).[2]
Returning to the country, he was appointed the director of the National Museum of Antiquities and held the position of professor of ancient history andepigraphy at theUniversity of Bucharest (1881). From the point of view of archaeology, Tocilescu was the initiator of the Romanian archaeological excavations in Dobrogea.[3]He is co-author of the workThe Great Geographical Dictionary of Romania published in 5 volumes in Bucharest between 1898-1902. He was general secretary at the Ministry of Education and, several times, conservative senator. Tocilescu is one of the first historians to study the civilizations on the territory of the formerDacia. He left three impressive works:Dacia before the Romans (Dacia înainte de romani),the Adamclisi Monument (Monumentul de la Adamclisi) in collaboration with O. Benndorf and G. Niemann andFouilles et recherches archéologiques en Roumanie.
He was also concerned with the republishing of some fundamental works, such asThe Chronicle of the Antiquity of the Romanian-Moldavian-Vlachs (Hronicul vechimei a româno-moldo-vlahilor) (Ed. Academiei, 1901) by Dimitrie Cantemir.
