George, or Gogu Constantinesco¹, was born in Craiova on 4th October 1881 in "the Doctor's House'' near the Mihai Bravu Gardens. The influence of his intellectual forebears of Ploiesti and Timisoara contributed to his cultural upbringing and professional accomplishments. Of his three uncles, Barbu was a schoolmaster, Petre was a barrister and Calistrat was a bishop, but the one who had the most influence on his future career was his father George, born in 1844. He was a professor of mathematics and engineering science, a lover of music and also a scholar in Latin, Greek and Theology. He pioneered modern scientific education in Romania and founded a teacher training school. Having taken his degree in the Faculty of Sciences at Bucharest University, George (senior) followed the prevailing fashion of the times by studying in France and specialized in mathematics at the Sorbonne University. On his return he started as mathematics master and later became Headmaster of Craiova High School, now the Nickolai Balcescu Institute.

Gogu's mother, Ana, hailed from Timisoara in Transylvania but was of Alsatian descent and a fugitive from the Franco-German war of 1870. Her father, Francis Roy, was an engineer, and before her marriage she worked as a draughtswoman in his office. She was also a lover of music and an accomplished pianist. Her French maiden name of "Roy'' was changed to "Rov'' by the local authorities in Timisoara, when part of the family first took refuge in Romania. Other members of the family fled to England. George and Ana had two sons, Ion & Gogu, and a daughter named Maria, or ''Gisi''. One son, Ion, died young while still at school. The other son was Gogu, who inherited his parents' talents in engineering, mathematics and music. In fact he received his first piano lessons from his father at the age of five and became both an outstanding mathematician and accomplished pianist in his own right in later years.

From a very early age Gogu began to show signs of original thought and inventive ability, coupled with a lively and precocious disposition. He attended the Obedeanu Primary School in Craiova until the age of eleven. While there he devised and built a telephone system from his bedroom to the kitchen, which was at the far end of the courtyard, so that he and his mother could communicate without running to and fro.

From 1892 he attended High School, and while there he used his room at home as his first "laboratory" where he conducted experiments in physics and chemistry - often to confirm what he had been taught at school. One day while experimenting his schoolboy curiosity led to an accident which nearly brought his career to a premature end through an explosion of boiling potassium chlorate mixed with carbon granules mistaken for manganese dioxide. More successfully he repaired the electrical equipment from Vienna used in the treatment of his mother's double vision as there was nobody available locally who knew how to put it right. He invented an electric lamp which used mercury vapour instead of carbon electrodes and made his own electric batteries, motors and electric lighting plant. He also designed a mechanical calculating machine suitable for astronomical calculations up to thirty figures as well as for simpler uses such as helping his younger sister to learn arithmetic. The machine was constructed by a piano repairer in Craiova named Reichel. If Gogu could design from scratch a complex mechanical calculator in his early teens at home, it is not surprising that his inherent ability in mathematics enabled him to surpass his classmates in the subject and sometimes even his teachers.

Although his father was pleased with his outstanding progress in the science subjects at school, he exhorted him to pay more attention to the arts not only because he would need a balanced education in later life, but also because he would have to pass the examinations set by the school. This included Greek language and literature. George took note of his father's advice, but continued to give priority to his chemistry, physics and mathematics during school hours, but read up the other subjects in his spare time. He would do this almost cursorily and yet still be able to pass oral and written examinations with the minimum of assistance from his teachers or class mates, and sometimes apparently by ''luck".

Gogu's father died in 1896 when he was only fifty-two, of heart disease. George was only fifteen at the time and in the fifth form at High School. This misfortune was followed, four years later, by the death of his mother, which left him with the responsibility of looking after his sister. He received his Baccalaureate in 1899 at the age of eighteen, and was regarded as the best pupil in mathematics in the history of the school. At the age of sixteen he had already acquired a complete command of advanced mathematics, including analytical geometry, differential and integral calculus, the calculus of variations, rational mechanics, physics and electricity. Among his contemporaries there was George Titeica, who became an eminent mathematician and Nicolai Titulescu, who became Minister of Foreign Affairs and President of the League of Nations.

Young George received his training in engineering at L'Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees (The National School for Bridges and Roads). This school was the first institute of its kind for advanced training of engineers in Romania. He obtained his Diploma in Civil and Military Engineering there in 1904 with distinction and as head of his class. By this time he was only twenty-three, but had already done original theoretical work on the possibilities of using reinforced concrete for the construction of buildings and bridges which was published in ''The Bulletin of the Romanian Polytechnic Society" in 1905. Although the use of reinforced concrete was a controversial subject, it was being seriously considered, if somewhat reluctantly, by the authorities, because of its apparent convenience and low cost compared to importing iron and steel during a period of financial stringency.

On completion of his training George discovered it was not so easy to get a job in those days of depression. First he tried to obtain a teaching post on the staff of the School for Bridges and Roads, but in this he failed. Eventually he obtained a post in the ''Service for Bridges and Roads" in the Ministry of Public Works as a civil engineer. With his characteristic self-confidence and tenacity he fought the opposition and scepticism of his superiors and colleagues in the Ministry, and continued to insist that there was a future for reinforced concrete in Romania. This was an uphill task because there had been disastrous failures in its use in other parts of Europe, notably the bridge to the ''Celestial Globe" at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1900 and the ''Black Bear" hotel in Basle in 1903. However he was eventually able, after many trials and tribulations, to convince the authorities of the validity of his ideas and designs, and was allowed to build numerous reinforced concrete structures which are still in position today. Among these are the Ministry of Public Works, the Chamber of Deputies, the Chamber of Commerce, a complete oxygen producing plant, the Bucharest Sports Stadium, the water tower at Perish, numerous reinforced concrete bridges and the interesting Mosque of Constanza on the Black Sea with its reinforced concrete minaret and dome only five centimetres thick. He built the first reinforced concrete bridge, with straight beams, for the 1906 Bucharest Exhibition, fig. 1.

While the bridge was under construction a major problem developed in the Chamber of Deputies, which was being built to the designs of an architect in a traditional way. The elliptical wall surrounding the chamber began to splay out by up to ten centimetres. George was hurriedly summoned from the bridge with his team of a hundred skilled workers to save the building! He accomplished this, first, by surrounding the whole of the wall with a girdle of reinforced concrete. Next, he was entrusted with the rest of the design and construction, which included items such as floors, columns, arches, balconies, galleries and the great cupola. Predictably he designed and built all these in reinforced concrete, much to the consternation of the Deputies, who refused to sit in the Chamber for fear of it collapsing upon them. In addition to this setback, the Minister of Finance, Emil Costinescu, was furious upon hearing that the construction of this very important building was in reinforced concrete, a system of which he did not approve, and furthermore was done, in his opinion, by an irresponsible young engineer only twenty-five years old.

As a result of this impasse an inquiry was ordered under the chairmanship of Professor Davidescu. Professor Davidescu knew George's capabilities well as George had been a student of his. In his report he considered that the work was entirely safe. That report was still not accepted and a second more detailed inquiry was called for under the chairmanship of another of George's former professors, Ion Ionescu. After discussion with Ionescu, George suggested a plan of action to prove the safety of the building which should satisfy everybody, and this plan was accepted. He brought in hundreds of sacks of sand of approximately a man's weight each, and loaded every available space in the building to fifty per cent more weight than would be practical with people. This satisfied Ionescu that the building was safe. But George, wanting to make his point further, suggested he should double the number of sacks again. He knew it would still be safe because his design calculations already covered such an overload. However, Ionescu refused to allow the extra loading, and drew up a favourable report. At last the Deputies were convinced and started to use the building, after all the sand and dust had been cleared away! Even the Minister of Finance was impressed and invited George to lunch at Sinaia, where he assured him that he was finally convinced that there was a future for reinforced concrete.

Shortly after this episode, George proposed to extend his ideas and designs in reinforced concrete to bridges with wide arches of 40m or more across large rivers, but he was opposed by the Higher Technical Council, in spite of his previous outstanding successes. He knew that the Government urgently required these bridges to develop the infrastructure so in order to get his ideas put into practice for the benefit of the country he decided, in May 1908, to resign from Government service and instead, at the age of twenty-seven, to try his hand in private enterprise with his colleague Tiberiu Erema. They tendered for a contract to build a series of bridges in competition with a French firm, but although their bid was much lower, the Government would not at first accept their offer on the grounds that they were too young and did not have sufficient experience. However, the Government did eventually approve their plan to build a series of five large bridges in reinforced concrete with wide arches over a period of two years, instead of their previous plans to build them in plain concrete with narrow arches. These were the largest reinforced concrete bridges in the world at that time.

Compelling arguments in favour of the proposed use of reinforced concrete were the greatly reduced cost, about thirty per cent of traditional methods, and the reduced time factor involved. After they experienced considerable difficulties in obtaining finance privately through the Commercial Bank, the Government intervened and ordered the bank to pay money to the contractors in advance so that machinery and supplies could be purchased to allow the work to be completed on time. Due to lack of suitable equipment in the country George designed and constructed his own compressed air machines for working under water and electrically operated pile drivers which drove in 14,000 12 m piles in one winter. The work went on relentlessly winter and summer, twenty-four hours per day, with three shifts of men.

About 85% of his men could not read or write and George had to train all his personnel as engineers, mechanics, electricians and skilled labourers. This major work was completed within the contract time of two years and left its indelible mark in Romania. In recognition of this achievement the Government paid George a gratuity of £2,400.

From 1908 to 1910 George continued to work as a civil engineer and became involved in a variety of civil engineering projects, from buildings and bridges to town water supplies and road construction. Of particular interest was his construction of the Doftana - Bustenari highway under difficult conditions of mud and dust. The road was urgently required to allow oil drilling teams to reach Bustenari, which previously could only be done using horses. The mud problem was so bad that horses had been seen to sink down to their chests. First, he had to consolidate a great part of the highway and extensive areas to the sides with wooden piles. When it was dry the next problem to be overcome was thick dust. This he did by sprinkling the whole length of the highway with hot crude petroleum. This kept the highway free of dust and enabled the International Congress on Petroleum to take place at Bustenari on time. George believed that this was the first time that crude petroleum had been used anywhere to seal a road surface and it was the forerunner of tarred roads constructed in many parts of the world as a result of the experience in Romania.

George's involvement with road construction brought him into contact with engineering problems in the oil industry. Although he was too busy with his civil engineering contracts to become directly involved at that time, he did contribute to the development of the industry with theoretical analyses of problems, and together with his partner Tiberiu Erema, he founded the first petroleum journal in Romania. In later life improved methods of drilling were taken up by the industry based on his ideas.

Although George Constantinesco had to work as a civil engineer during the early part of his career in Romania, in order to earn his living, other ideas on mechanical engineering problems were brewing in his mind at the same time. These included embryo ideas on vehicles of transport and engines and transmission systems for them to replace horses, for in those days motor vehicles were almost unknown in Romania. His interest in transportation first came to light in 1907 when he took out his first British patent, which suggested a simple monorail system, but one drawn by animals! Basically it resembled the idea of a milkmaid carrying a pail on either side of her, suspended from a yoke across her back, and described as a saddle-back system. It was envisaged that the suspended containers would carry building and other materials, but could be adapted to carrying people. Due to lack of funds and time, the idea was not developed to the stage when it could be of practical use. In 1910 he took out two more British patents for carburetting air with volatile solid fuel, of which one was a carburetted air lamp. The patent for the lamp was taken out jointly with a colleague V. Rosculet.

Of particular importance to his future work was his underlying preoccupation with the phenomena of vibrations. An inkling of his thoughts on the subject appeared among his series of articles on calculations for reinforced concrete in the April and May 1905 issues of "The Bulletin of the Romanian Polytechnic Society'', on the oscillation of railcars while running on lines. Engineers have always been confronted with the problems of undesirable vibrations in machines and structures and have tried to minimize or eliminate them. It occurred to George that it should be possible to harness vibrations for the beneficial transmission of power by the waves of energy so generated.

The seeds of this concept had already taken root in his mind when he was a teenager at school. Being a lover of good music and an accomplished pianist, he noted how separate sounds arose from the generation of waves by a vibrating piano string, and he was intrigued by the fact that certain chords in music were acceptable to the ears whilst others were not. He perceived that the pleasing effect or charm of music was dependent on the harmonious integration of the sounds, but he wanted a mathematical explanation of this effect. Finding none in the published literature and with the unbounded energy of youth, he started to tackle the problem himself at the tender age of fifteen. He found this difficult to accomplish because of the different approaches to acoustics and harmony by musicians and physicists. However, with the help of the extensive library on mathematics left to him by his father and practical studies of the mechanics of chords and discords on the piano, he managed, by the time he was eighteen, to develop a mathematical theory of Harmony which satisfied him.

George's studies in this field contributed, in later years, to the development of his inventions based on transmission of power by vibrations and his Theory of Sonics. While in Romania, working on civil engineering projects, George felt that he lacked adequate facilities and opportunities to develop his ideas and inventions. Consequently, he considered seeking new opportunities abroad, possibly in Britain or America. While in this frame of mind, and travelling through the Carpathian mountains on field work, he was much surprised to come across a motor car, a rare sight indeed, driven by an American by the name of Kettering. The owner of the vehicle was a senior executive of the Standard Oil Company. These two men soon became friends and Kettering, after hearing of George's problems and aspirations, confirmed that rapid scientific and technological developments were taking place in Britain and America. These would provide the environment that George needed within which to develop his theories and budding inventions and were enough to convince George, now twenty-nine, that he should emigrate to England.

1

 In Romania the family name was spelt Constantinescu and the first name of Cogu was generally used. It is used here where confusion might arise with the father who was also named George.