Did you know that even true stories start with “once upon a time”? Stay with us and discover the story of a Romanian who changed the world. Petrache Poenaru was a man who believed in the power of education. He fought for justice alongside outlaws, created the tricolor flag that represents our country, and forever changed the way people write.
One summer morning, more than 200 years ago, in a small Romanian village on the banks of the Olt River, Petrache sat under a large oak tree, carefully flipping through an old math book. With a goose quill in hand, he tried to jot down some calculations, but the ink kept spilling on the paper, leaving large black stains behind.
“Oh, why is it so difficult? Every time I try to write something, the ink either runs out or spills!” he said, frustrated, throwing the quill into the grass.
Petrache’s grandfather, who was sitting on the steps of the manor in Benești, heard him and smiled.
“Well, my dear, great things require patience. But who knows, maybe one day you’ll find a solution to this problem!” he told him.
This idea stayed in his mind for a long time. Petrache was a precocious child, and his family ensured he received the best education. His father, a wealthy nobleman, sent him to study from the age of five. He learned history and Greek from a Greek teacher. Then he went to school in Craiova, where he stood out as an excellent student. He attended the “Saint Sava” College in Bucharest, where the renowned Gheorghe Lazăr, considered the founder of Romanian education, taught. The teacher liked him so much that he took him on as an assistant, and Petrache taught alongside his master for several years.
In 1821, the country was in great turmoil. Romanians were living under the rule of foreign princes and were forced to pay heavy taxes, even though they could barely feed their families. In the midst of these times appeared a brave man named Tudor Vladimirescu. Although he started as a simple pandur (a kind of soldier), he became the leader of a revolution that tried to change the fate of the people of Wallachia. He gathered an army of outlaws around him, who fought for freedom and justice.
Although Petrache was passionate about science and books, he couldn’t stand by. So, one day he changed his clothes and snuck into the group of outlaws from Craiova. He didn’t know how to shoot pistols or throw knives, but he had an inkwell hidden in his pockets.
“Tudor, I don’t just know how to write and calculate! I also know how to fight for the justice of our people!” said Petrache.
“Then you’re welcome among us! We need wise men like you,” replied Vladimirescu, patting him on the shoulder. Thus, Petrache Poenaru became his personal secretary and handled all his correspondence while Vladimirescu was the leader of the peasants.
Convinced that the pen is mightier than the sword, Petrache suggested to Tudor Vladimirescu that they establish a newspaper to spread the word about their movement. This is how the first Romanian newspaper, called Foaia de propagandă (The Propaganda Sheet), was born.
One day, he came up with another idea: to create a flag that would represent the soul of the Romanian people. That’s how he chose the colors of the Romanian tricolor: red, yellow, and blue.
“These colors symbolize courage, wealth, and the free sky of our country. This flag will be a symbol of our freedom!” said Petrache. He was inspired by the French, and thus he created the three-color flag that we know today, which was adopted as the national flag in 1881.
Unfortunately, Tudor Vladimirescu was betrayed and killed, and the revolution quickly faded, so Petrache had to leave the country. He went to study in Vienna and then in Paris, with the help of acquaintances and relatives. There, he met scholars from all over the world and learned from every moment spent in libraries and laboratories. He studied several foreign languages: German, French, Latin, Italian, and English, and he continued to be fascinated by mechanisms that could make people’s lives easier.
Petrache always carried a small ink bottle with him, as he had a lot to write—copying courses, taking notes, and writing letters to relatives and acquaintances. So, the childhood idea of creating a tool that could write without interruption and without an inkwell came back to him.
“I’ve found the solution! Imagine a pen that has ink inside it, so you can write without having to constantly dip the quill,” he told his colleagues. He spent weeks in the laboratory, experimenting and trying different materials. Finally, he succeeded! He created a small but revolutionary object: a pen with an internal ink reservoir, which wrote smoothly and fluidly, without scratching the paper and without leaving ink stains.
He was so excited! He quickly ran to the patent office to register his invention. On May 25, 1827, the pen was officially recognized in Paris, becoming the world’s first fountain pen and the first patent obtained by a Romanian. Petrache Poenaru was 28 years old.
“Patent number 3208 is granted for a ‘portable pen, without end, feeding itself with ink,'” he read without stopping, convinced that after centuries of writing with bird quills and metal nibs, his invention would change the world!
Since then, the pen has helped millions of people put their thoughts on paper more easily. His story reminds us that sometimes the greatest inventions start from the desire to solve simple problems. However, because his discovery was not mass-produced, the title of pen inventor is attributed to the American Waterman, who, 57 years later, perfected Poenaru’s pump pen idea into one that could be refilled through the nib.
Our hero’s adventures didn’t stop there. He was also the first Romanian to take a train journey. This happened in England in 1830 when he traveled on the world’s first railway, opened between Liverpool and Manchester. “It is one of the wonders of the time. (…) Twenty wagons, connected to each other and carrying 240 people, are pulled by a single steam engine, and the train advances so fast that the best racehorse couldn’t keep up at a gallop,” the inventor wrote, thrilled by the new technology.
After returning to the country following his studies, Petrache Poenaru wanted to modernize education in Romania. He contributed to drafting regulations and tried to convince the authorities of the need to educate peasant children. He was among the founders of the Botanical Garden and published the first textbooks on geometry and algebra. Thanks to his work, he was close to Alexandru Ioan Cuza and later alongside Carol I. In 1870, he was elected a member of the Romanian Academy. Petrache Poenaru passed away from old age at 76, in a house in the heart of Bucharest.
Thanks to him, today we can write, read, and learn much more easily. His story continues to inspire all those who dream of a better world through knowledge and innovation. It is the true story of a Romanian who teaches us that nothing is impossible if we have the courage to follow our dreams.
Proiectul este finanțat de Primăria Sectorului 6 în cadrul Programului Cultura 2024 – www.primarie6.ro/program-cultura-2024/.
Conținutul acestui material nu reprezintă în mod necesar poziția oficială a Autorității finanțatoare.
Pentru informații detaliate despre programul de finanțare CULTURA 2024 puteți accesa www.primarie6.ro/program-cultura-2024/.
