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Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu

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Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu
Tăslăuanu as a senator in 1926
Born(1876-02-01)February 1, 1876
Bélbor, Austria-Hungary
(nowBilbor,Harghita County,Romania)
DiedOctober 22, 1942(1942-10-22)(aged 66)
Bucharest,Kingdom of Romania
Burial placeBellu Cemetery,Bucharest
NationalityAustro-Hungarian, later Romanian
Alma materUniversity of Bucharest
Occupation(s)magazine publisher, author, politician
Political partyRomanian National Party
People’s Party(after 1920)
Spouse
Adelina Olteanu
​
(m.1906)​

Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu(February 1, 1876 – October 22, 1942) was anAustro-Hungarian-bornRomanianmagazine publisher, non-fiction writer, and politician.

Biography

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Background and early life

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Born in Bélbor,Maros-Torda County,nowBilbor,Harghita County,his parents were Ion, aGreek-Catholicpriest and member of a clerical family; and Anisia (néeStan), a local peasant woman.[1]The upperMureșregion, centered atToplița,had been part ofMoldaviabefore being annexed by theHabsburg monarchyin 1775, and Ion would remind his son that the family was of Moldavian origin.[2]The family name refers to the valley of theTazlău River,where it lived prior to arriving in the Toplița area.[3]The second of eleven children, Octavian started primary school in his native village before the age of five. From 1884 to 1889, he went to primary school inGheorgheni.In autumn 1889, he enrolled inthe Romanian high schoolatNăsăud.[1]In 1890, he started atBrașov'sRomanian high school,leaving for theBlajhigh schoolin 1892. While there, in 1894, he was an active participant at the protests in support of theTransylvanian Memorandum.[4]

In December 1895, he passed hisbaccalauréatat Năsăud, subsequently taking employment as a notary inBicaz,in theRomanian Old Kingdom.In 1896, he was a teacher inCraiova,while the following year, he was drafted into theAustro-Hungarian Armyand sent to serve atTrieste.Following examinations, he was made a second lieutenant in the reserves.[4]From 1898 to 1902, he studied at the Literature and Philosophy faculties of theUniversity of Bucharest,and his professors includedTitu Maiorescu,Nicolae Iorga,Ovid Densusianu,andSimion Mehedinți.A good student, he obtained a prize from theCarol I Academic Foundationfor a work on the origins of theHunyadi family.[5]

Luceafăruland war experience

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The front page of a June 1913Luceafărulnumber, with Tăslăuanu's name on the masthead

In 1902, Tăslăuanu was named a secretary at the Romanian consulate inBudapest.[6]Somewhat unusually for a member of the country's diplomatic service, he did not hold Romanian citizenship at the time.[7]While there, he edited and corrected articles forLuceafărul,as well as writing original work, and began a close friendship withOctavian Goga,for whom he managed to create an environment that fostered Goga's poetic creativity. The following year, he became head editor at the magazine, which due to his initiative emerged as a voice for younger writers, in particular Goga, then reaching the peak of his creativity.[6]By 1904, he was owner as well as editor ofLuceafărul.In 1905, he attended celebrations atSibiumarking the opening of theASTRA Museum.There, he met Adelina Olteanu, the sister of officerMarcel Olteanu.[8][9]Adelina was a formerLuceafărulcontributor whom Goga intended to marry. She and Tăslăuanu fell in love and became engaged, marking the first break with Goga. On June 17, 1906, the couple married, and that year, he moved theLuceafărulheadquarters from Budapest to Sibiu, the first issue appearing there in October. Also that autumn, he became administrative secretary ofASTRA,[9]as well as signing a contract stipulating Goga would be director ofLuceafăruland Tăslăuanu editor-in-chief.[10]

By 1907, the magazine was thriving in Sibiu, and Tăslăuanu became among the first journalists to write aboutConstantin Brâncuși,realizing the value of the latter's artistic output and going on to print a number of images depicting his sculptures. In 1909, he took on the publication ofTransilvaniaas well. The following year, he suffered a heavy blow when his wife died at the age of 33; she had been a close collaborator.[11]In 1911, he reorganized the ASTRA library, publishing science and culture brochures under its name. He was also a dedicated director of the association's museum, bringing in numerous ethnographic exhibits. Between 1911 and 1912, he published a calendar for ASTRA, while he made up with Goga, so that the latter returned toLuceafărulas director. In 1914, with the outbreak ofWorld War I,he was sent to the front and his cultural activities were put on hold. However, he did manage to publish two books about his war experiences, in 1915 and 1916.[12]At first, he served in the Austro-Hungarian Army, as part of aFăgăraș-basedRoyal Hungarian Honvédbattalion.[13]He subsequently deserted and, following Romania's entry into the war in 1916 on the side of theAllies,he enrolled in theRomanian Land Forcesas a volunteer.[14]

Politics and later writings

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In 1918, following theunion of Transylvania with Romania,Tăslăuanu was elected a member of the Great Romanian National Council by the assembly atAlba Iuliathat approved the union. He also remarried; his new wife was Fatma Sturdza, whom he met on the front as a nurse. In 1919, hewas electedto theChamber of Deputiesfor theTulgheșseat. Also elected vice president of theRomanian Writers' Society,he movedLuceafărultoBucharestand founded a publishing house inCluj.In 1920, he held two ministerial posts:Commerce and Industry(March 13-November 16) andPublic Works(November 16-December 31). He resigned due to vehement attacks from theNational Liberal Party-dominated press.[15]Initially a member of theRomanian National Party,in 1920, persuaded by Goga, he joinedAlexandru Averescu'sPeople's Partyand served in the latter's cabinet.[16]

While in government, Tăslăuanu used his expertise in economics and Transylvanian affairs to help crafta land reform lawfor the province. His interest in economics continued after leaving office and into theGreat Depression;ideologically, his views fell into theclassical liberalcamp. He believed the state should remain uninvolved in commerce, production or industry, and that its efforts tended to kill off individual initiative.[17]In 1926, hewas electedto theSenateforMureș County.Meanwhile, he published a series of books between 1924 and 1939: on politics, economics, the national movement in Transylvania, reflections on theLuceafărulera,[18]and finally, in 1939, his last important work appeared, presenting his memories of the recently deceased Goga.[19]In 1941, he founded the weekly magazineDaciain Bucharest; this appeared from April 15 to May 1. The following year, he published an article on the occasion of the 40th anniversary ofLuceafărul;it was to be the last work of his that appeared during his lifetime. He died ofrespiratory failureand was buried inBellu Cemetery.[20]There is a high school in Toplița that was named after him in 1990;[21]a gymnasial school in Bilbor and a street in Toplița also bear his name.

Notes

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  1. ^abŢipu, p.7
  2. ^Tăslăuanu, pp.vi, 14
  3. ^Netea, p.12
  4. ^abŢipu, p.8
  5. ^Ţipu, p.8-9
  6. ^abŢipu, p.9
  7. ^(in Romanian)Andreea Dăncilă,"Ipostaze ale elitei culturale româneşti din Transilvania începutului de secol XX: generaţiaLuceafărului(1902-1914) ",p.230, in theDecember 1 University of Alba Iulia'sSeries HistoricaArchived2013-01-14 at theWayback Machine,14/I, 2010
  8. ^Alin Spânu (2012),"Serviciul de informații politice și propagandă și analiza situației din Banat (începutul anului 1919)"(PDF),Buletinul Arhivelor Militare Române(in Romanian),15(3): 46–48,retrievedDecember 20,2020
  9. ^abŢipu, p.10
  10. ^Ţipu, pp.10–11
  11. ^Ţipu, p.11
  12. ^Ţipu, p.12
  13. ^(in Romanian)Constantin I. Stan,"Viața în tranșee în anii Primului Război Mondial (1914-1918)",p.78, inAnalele Universității Dunarea de Jos din Galați, Seria Istorie,9/2010
  14. ^Netea, p.24
  15. ^Ţipu, p.13
  16. ^(in Romanian)Zigu Ornea,"Publicistica lui Goga",inRomânia Literară,Nr. 2/1999
  17. ^(in Romanian)Petre Poruțiu,"Octavian C. Tăslăuanu Economist",inLuceafărul,Nr. 12/1942, p.440-42 (digitized by theBabeş-Bolyai UniversityTranssylvanica Online Library)
  18. ^Ţipu, p.14
  19. ^Ţipu, p.15
  20. ^Ţipu, p.16
  21. ^Short historyat the O. C. Tăslăuanu Theoretical High School site
  22. ^Tăslăuanu, p.40

References

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