Dimitrie Ghica-Comăneşti

Who was Dimitrie Ghica-Comăneşti?

Dimitrie Ghica-Comănești was a Romanian nobleman, explorer, famous hunter, adventurer and politician. He was born into the Ghica family, with nobiliary ancestry roots beginning in the 17th century. He was the son of Ecaterina Plagino and aga Nicolae Ghica, boyar, from whom he inherited the estate domains of Comănești and Palanca, two of the ten his father had. He graduated a law degree from the Humboldt University of Berlin, and pursued his career as prefect of Bacău County, magistrate, and member of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania between 1872 and 1892 and further as royal adviser.

Like his father, since childhood he was an avid outdoor enthusiast, and educated himself about nature, only to become later a prominent member of the Romanian Geographical Society, one of the very firsts in the world, founded in 1875. He remarked himself in studies of zoology, botany and geology, geography and topography. He married Zoe Lahovary. They had one son, Nicolae Ghica, who followed in his father's path. He was chairman and president of the Senate. Also they had a daughter, Maria, married Prince Leon Mavrocordato, military attaché in Vienna.