1938 in Romania explained

Events from the year 1938 in Romania. A self-coup and subsequent new constitution make Carol II a royal dictator.

Incumbents

• King

Carol II.^[1]

• Prime Minister

^[2]

• • Octavian Goga (until 10 February)
  • Miron Cristea (from 11 February)

Events

• 10 February – Carol II stages a self-coup, deposes Octavian Goga as Prime Minister and cancels the elections planned for March in an attempt to create a royal authoritarian dictatorship.^[3]
• 24 February – A constitutional referendum is held, which by 4,289,581 votes to 5,843 grants Carol II the dictatorial powers he sought in his self-coup. Voting is open and compulsory, and there are allegations of coercion.^[4]
• 27 February – The 1938 constitution is ratified by Parliament, codifying the earlier coup and referendum.^[5]
• 30 March – The right-wing National Christian Party and Romanian Front are dissolved.^[6]
• 16 April – Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the leader of the Iron Guard, along with other members of the party, is arrested. He is sentenced to ten years prison but shot while allegedly trying to escape on 30 November.^[7]
• 14 August – In a major reorganisation of the administrative division of the country, Carol II divides Romania into 10 Regions (Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Ținuturi), which are named Argeș, Crișuri, Dunării, Jiu, Mării, Mureș, Nistru, Prut, Suceava and Timiș.^[8]
• 24 November – Carol II meets Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler. An agreement is reached to provide Germany with food and oil.^[9]
• Date unknown – Letea Forest is declared the first nature reserve in Romania.^[10]

Births

• 20 January –Maria Zaharescu, physical chemist.^[11]
• 3 October – Lia Vanea, volleyball player who competes in the 1964 Summer Olympics.^[12]
• 9 October – Olga Orbán, World Champion and Olympic medal winning foil fencer (died 2022).^[13]

Deaths

• 12 February – Iosif Trifa, Romanian Orthodox priest and evangelist.
• 9 June – Ovid Densusianu, poet, linguist, folklorist, and full member of the Romanian Academy (born 1873).
• 18 July – Queen Marie of Romania, consort of Ferdinand I (born 1875).^[14]
• 16 August – Marcel Pauker, husband of Ana Pauker, Communist leader, executed near Moscow during the Great Purge (born 1896).^[15]
• 5 September – Gheorghe Mărdărescu, major general in World War I, commander during the Hungarian–Romanian War of 1919, and Minister of War from 1922 to 1926.^[16]
• 2 October – Alexandru Averescu, general in World War I, Marshal and Prime Minister of Romania (born 1858).^[17]
• 30 November – Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Romanian politician and organization founder.^[18]
• 29 December – Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu, teacher, writer, and women's rights activist (born 1866).^[19]

Notes and References

1. Book: Treptow, Kurt W. . A History of Romania . Iaşi . Center for Romanian Studies . 2001 . 978-9-73943-235-1 . 597.
2. Book: Spuler, Bertold . Rulers and Governments of the World Volume 3: 1930 to 1975 . London . Bowker . 1977 . 978-0-85935-056-3 . 444.
3. Book: Ramet, Sabrina P. . Alternatives to Democracy in Twentieth-Century Europe: Collectivist Visions of Modernity . Budapest . Central European University Press . 2019 . 978-9-63386-318-3.
4. Book: Gallagher, Tom . Outcast Europe: From the Ottomans to Milosevic . Abingdon and New York . Routledge . 2005 . 116 . 978-1-31768-453-4 .
5. Book: Aleksandra . Gliszczyńska-Grabias . Uladzislau . Belavusau . Law and Memory: Towards Legal Governance of History . Cambridge . Cambridge University Press . 2006 . 233 . 978-1-10718-875-4.
6. Book: Constantin . Gheorghe . Miliana . Șerbu . Miniștrii de Interne (1862–2007). Mică Enciclopedie . Ministers of the Interior (1862–2007). Small Encyclopedia . Bucharest . Romanian Ministry of the Interior . 2007 . 978-9-73745-048-7 . 220 . RO.
7. Book: Watts, Larry L. . Romanian Cassandra: Ion Antonescu and the Struggle for Reform, 1916-1941 . 174 . New York : Columbia University Press . 1993 . 978-0-88033255-2.
8. Book: Nistor, Ioan Silviu . Comuna și Județul: Factori ai Civilizației Românești Unitare: Evoluția Istorică . Commune and County: Unifying Factors for Romanian Civilization: The Historical Evolution . Cluj-Napoca . Dacia . 2000 . 125 . 978-9-73350-942-4 . RO.
9. Book: Buzatu, Gheorghe . History of Romanian Oil Vol II . Bucharest . Mica Valahie Publishing House . 2006 . 87 . 978-9-73785-825-2.
10. Book: Tudorancea, Claudiu . Danube Delta: Genesis and Biodiversity . Leiden . Backhuys . 2006 . 5 . 978-9-05782-165-3.
11. Book: Madson, Lynette . Successful Women Ceramic and Glass Scientists and Engineers:100 Inspirational Profiles . Hoboken, New Jersey . John Wiley & Sons Inc . 2016. 9781118733608 . 583.
12. Lia Vaneau . https://web.archive.org/web/20130923045155/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/va/lia-vanea-1.html. dead . 23 September 2013 . 5 April 2022.
13. Olga Orban-Szabo. https://web.archive.org/web/20161203182034/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/or/olga-orban-szabo-1.html. 3 December 2016. 5 April 2022.
14. Book: Pakula, Hannah . The Last Romantic: A Biography of Queen Marie of Roumania . Simon and Schuster . 1984 . New York . 978-0-67146-364-9 . 418.
15. Book: Levy, Robert . Ana Pauker: The Rise and Fall of a Jewish Communist . Berkeley . University of California Press. 2001 . 225 . 978-0-52022-395-0.
16. Web site: Gheorghe Mărdărescu, un general de elită. Manuel. Stănescu. Historia. ro. August 25, 2022.
17. Ioan Parean, Mareșalul Averescu, conducător militar de excepție ("Marshal Averescu, Outstanding Military Leader")
18. Barbu, p.198; Jelavich, p.207; Ornea, p.320-321; Sedgwick, p.115; Veiga, p.257
19. Book: Anna . Loutfi . Krasimira . Daskalova . Francisca . de Haan . A Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms: Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe, 19th and 20th Centuries . New York . . 2006 . 463 . 978-9-63732-639-4.