Simion Mehedinti (1869-1962)

Romanian geographer; born at Soveja (the Vrancea County). Study years spent in Bucharest, in France and Germany. Professor at the University of Bucharest, Chair of Geography, which happened to be the first such chair in the country. Member of the Romanian Academy, director of the review "Convorbiri Literare" (Literary Intercourse). Major contribution to shaping a geographical thinking in Romania. Preoccupation with defining the scope and contents of geography, and pigeon holing it in the science system, with establishing geographical rules and categories and geographical research methods.

He developed a personal system of geographical thinking, to be described in his fundamental work titled: "Terra - Introduction to Geography as a Science" (2 volumes, published in 1931). He studied the planet complex as an interrelation between the masses of the planet four strata, from the point of view of both their space location and time evolution. Geographical data should, in his opinion, be structured in consideration of the causal relationship between phenomena. This is due to the ever higher complexity of the planet strata (atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere), and their progressive subordination in the order shown, and to the working association of the strata. The study of planets was meant for either the Earth or regions of the Earth, thus making it possible for him to define the scope of general or regional physical geography; the geographical study of its various chapters is done exclusively by referring the subject-matter as a whole.

He wrote a lot of papers dealing with as many geographical subjects as can be imagined. He also wrote papers on ethnography.

As founder and organizer of modern geographical education in Romania, Simion Mehedinti taught one generation after another of geographers. He started a geographical research program of which covering area was the whole territory of the country, qualifying researchers for this, and calling them to collaborate.

Last update: 2004, October 27
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