Eraclie Sterian (also known as Eracle or Eracli Sterian; November 23,
1872 â€" 1948) was a Romanian physician, writer, and political
activist, known for introducing sexology and sex education in his
country. Trained as a pathologist, he established his reputation as a
popularizer of conventional and alternative medicine (primarily
hydrotherapy), putting out the influential magazine Medicul Poporului.
His early work also dealt with life extension practices and warnings
about the effects of pollution. Sterian was additionally a publisher
of textbooks and literary works, and author of dramasâ€"including the
pro-natalist propaganda play, Tout pour l'enfant, performed at the
Théâtre Antoine in 1913.As a doctor and a social critic, Sterian
held unconventional views on eugenics, human evolution, and the social
role of sexual experiences. These caused a lasting scandal for their
challenging of ancestral taboosâ€"although, overall, Sterian remained
a conservative and an avowed Christian, who claimed to have found a
cure for compulsive masturbation. His sex manuals, aimed at a young
audience, enjoyed success nationwide, and went through several
editions in the 1910s.A Colonel in the Romanian Land Forces, Sterian
was also an expert of typhus, having taken part in the World War I
campaign against epidemics. In old age, Sterian focused on defending
his status as a property owner in Bucharest, founding an Association
of Mortgaged Owners and Debtors, and then joining the nation-wide
League Against Usury. He was survived by his son, the
writer-politician Paul Sterian, and by his daughter in law, painter
Margareta Sterian.Born in the port city of Galați, Eraclie Sterian
was the son of Dimitrie and Maria. Both parents were natives of
Craiova, and had participated in the Romanian War of Independence:
Dimitrie as an officer in combat, Maria as a field nurse.[1] His
maternal uncle may have been the pioneering microbiologist Constantin
Levaditi; on his paternal side, Eraclie was the nephew of actors
Aristide Demetriade and Aristizza Romanescu,[1] and of poet Mircea
Demetriade.[2] The Sterians were widely thought of as Jewish, and,
more specifically, Eraclie was rumored to have been baptized a
Christian from Judaism.[3] The family rejected such claims.[1]
1872 â€" 1948) was a Romanian physician, writer, and political
activist, known for introducing sexology and sex education in his
country. Trained as a pathologist, he established his reputation as a
popularizer of conventional and alternative medicine (primarily
hydrotherapy), putting out the influential magazine Medicul Poporului.
His early work also dealt with life extension practices and warnings
about the effects of pollution. Sterian was additionally a publisher
of textbooks and literary works, and author of dramasâ€"including the
pro-natalist propaganda play, Tout pour l'enfant, performed at the
Théâtre Antoine in 1913.As a doctor and a social critic, Sterian
held unconventional views on eugenics, human evolution, and the social
role of sexual experiences. These caused a lasting scandal for their
challenging of ancestral taboosâ€"although, overall, Sterian remained
a conservative and an avowed Christian, who claimed to have found a
cure for compulsive masturbation. His sex manuals, aimed at a young
audience, enjoyed success nationwide, and went through several
editions in the 1910s.A Colonel in the Romanian Land Forces, Sterian
was also an expert of typhus, having taken part in the World War I
campaign against epidemics. In old age, Sterian focused on defending
his status as a property owner in Bucharest, founding an Association
of Mortgaged Owners and Debtors, and then joining the nation-wide
League Against Usury. He was survived by his son, the
writer-politician Paul Sterian, and by his daughter in law, painter
Margareta Sterian.Born in the port city of Galați, Eraclie Sterian
was the son of Dimitrie and Maria. Both parents were natives of
Craiova, and had participated in the Romanian War of Independence:
Dimitrie as an officer in combat, Maria as a field nurse.[1] His
maternal uncle may have been the pioneering microbiologist Constantin
Levaditi; on his paternal side, Eraclie was the nephew of actors
Aristide Demetriade and Aristizza Romanescu,[1] and of poet Mircea
Demetriade.[2] The Sterians were widely thought of as Jewish, and,
more specifically, Eraclie was rumored to have been baptized a
Christian from Judaism.[3] The family rejected such claims.[1]
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