Mircea and Ioana Cantacuzino

Mircea and Ioana Cantacuzino

Born in 1895 and 1900 respectively, Ioana and Mircea Cantacuzino were two of the four children from the second marriage of Ion G. Cantacuzino (nicknamed "The Engineer") with Maria Fălcoianu, the other two being Despina, born in 1901 , and Maria, born in 1904.

With the tragic loss of both parents (Maria dies in 1907, and Ion in 1911), the orphans were raised by their father's half-cousin, Elena Cantacuzino, the wife of Gogu Cantacuzino, the Minister of Finance. Without the stabilizing factor of a complete family, orphans became autonomous and independent. The four children supported each other and a close bond was formed between them. Being the eldest of the children, the burden of assuming the role of mother for the others fell to Ioana.

Mircea

Mircea Cantacuzino is studying engineering at Charlottenburg Technical College, in Germany. Fluent in German and conversant in English, Mircea was a flamboyant person and a bon viveur. From horse riding to car racing, these elegant pursuits of a privileged lifestyle marked his path to independence.

It was expected that Mircea would start piloting. A car racing enthusiast, this was an evolution into a world of daring and exhilaration. There was a time when in Romania the prevailing attitude was that whoever dares should succeed. It was obvious from an early age that Mircea would become an aviator.

The aviation industry was still in its infancy and the pilots of the time were not only admired for their courage, but also for their pioneering spirit, not only in what concerned themselves, but also in the sense of promoting a positive attitude towards the country.
Soon after the establishment of this school, Mircea died in a plane accident at the age of 30, leaving behind a wife and a very young 5-year-old son, Dan Cantacuzino.

He was initially buried on his estate in Cornu, Prahova, and then was moved to the family crypt in the Bellu Cemetery.

His legacy and vision, materialized in the aviation school, continued with Ioana at the helm.

                                                      

 

                                                        

 

Ioana

Ioana attends school in Călimăneşti and then university studies in France. At the age of 12, she began to be passionate about astronomy and corresponded with the famous French astronomer Camille Flammarion who, captivated by the girl's letters, sent her a telescope with which she could observe the moon and the stars.

She married Grigore Carp in April 1915, at the age of 20. They have, on February 6, 1917, a daughter who was born in Bucharest, also named Ioana.

Ioana and Grigore Carp later divorced and she married engineer Aurel Persu, the one who invented and patented the aerodynamic car, in 1924. This new marriage lasted several years and, after another divorce, Ioana never remarried. Ioana continued to carry on her brother's legacy, successfully leading and permanently strengthening the position of the aviation school, nationally and internationally.

Ioana spent the last part of her life at the villa in Călimăneşti where she died in December 1951, at the age of 56. Following the work of moving the cemetery, the location of his grave is not known even today.