`Petru Bogdan was an intellectual who presented – a rare thing – an admirable balance and a happy alliance between the solid qualities of the scientist, the admirable gifts of the teacher and the devoted action for the institutions. In the field of Science, Petru Bogdan was the first Romanian who specialized and worked in the new field of Chemistry-Physics. Raised in the school of Petru Poni and Wilhelm Ostwald, he opened a new chapter in the history of the Romanian sciences, teaching the teaching of physical chemistry in the first department established for him and for this new discipline at the University of Iași`.
D. Gusti, `Petru Bogdan`, in Revista Fundațiilor Regale, Year XI, No. 8, August 1944.
The Central University Library `Mihai Eminescu` Iași organized, from February 6 to March 6, 2023, at its headquarters, the documentary exhibition `Petru Bogdan – 150`, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Romanian academician, professor at the University of Iasi. The official opening of the exhibition took place on 7 February 2023, in the Aula BCU `Mihai Eminescu` Iasi. The event was attended as guests by Prof. Dr. Ionel Mangalagiu, Pro-rector of the University `Alexandru Ioan Cuza` of Iași, and Prof. Dr. Sebastian Popescu, from the Faculty of Physics of the University `Alexandru Ioan Cuza` of Iași. The event was also addressed by Prof. Dr. Ioan Milică, Director General of BCU Iași, Dr. Elena Bondor, the producer of the documentary exhibition, and Prof. Dr. Gelu Bourceanu, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, currently Professor Emeritus. The university professors present at the event evoked the scientific activity, the work and the personality of the illustrious Professor Petru Bogdan, who taught at the University of Iași until 1940.
Professor Petru Bogdan was, alternately, Rector, Pro-Rector, Dean and Dean at the University of Iasi, from 1926 to 1940. He was involved, since 1926, in the steps for the establishment of the `King Ferdinand I` Foundation. Between 1941 and 1944 he was Director of the same Foundation and member of the Council of the Royal Cultural Foundations of Romania. He died on 29 March 1944, on duty, in a hotel room in Mediaș, during the evacuation of the assets of the “King Ferdinand I” Foundation in Iasi.


The documentary exhibition included period photographs and rare documents from the Culianu-Petrescu family archive, made available by Mrs Tereza Culianu-Petrescu, granddaughter of the scholar Petru Bogdan. Original documents from the collections of BCU `Mihai Eminescu` Iași were also exhibited, including Petru Bogdan’s doctoral thesis (publicly defended at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Berlin in 1901 and published in the same year in Germany), first editions of books in the field of chemistry-physics, the volume entitled Course in Physical Chemistry taught by Mr. Prof. P. Bogdan at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Iași in 1920 (in lithographed manuscript), his texts published in collective volumes (such as Publications of the Vasile Adamachi Fund, 1906, and Professor Petru Poni. Homage from his former students, 1906, etc.), studies and articles published in scientific journals in Romania and abroad, articles popularizing science published in cultural journals in Romania (in Viața Românească and in Însemnări Iasiene) and others.
Both at the official opening event and throughout the duration of the exhibition, from 6 February to 6 March 2023, a large public showed interest in the documentary exhibition organized at the Central University Library `Mihai Eminescu`, which operates in the building full of history of the `King Ferdinand I` Foundation in Iasi, whose Director was, between 1941 and 1944, Academician Petru Bogdan.
The exhibition `Petru Bogdan – 150`, in the press:
- https://zilesinopti.ro/evenimente/expozitia-de-carte-petru-bogdan-150/;
- https://www.agerpres.ro/comunicate/2023/02/06/comunicat-de-presa-biblioteca-centrala-universitara-mihai-eminescu-iasi–1054788;
- https://stirimoldova24.ro/documente-rare-si-fotografii-de-epoca-din-viata-savantului-petru-bogdan-expuse-la-bcu-iasi/;
- https://www.radiohit.ro/stiri/biblioteca-centrala-universitara-mihai-eminescu-iasi-organizeaza-in-perioada-6-februarie-6-martie-2023-expozitia-documentara-petru-bogdan-150/;
- https://www.bzi.ro/deschiderea-oficiala-a-expozitiei-documentare-petru-bogdan-150-la-biblioteca-centrala-universitara-4647732;
- https://iasi.inoras.ro/events/expozitia-de-carte-petru-bogdan-150/;
- https://dumitruserban.com/2023/02/11/petru-bogdan-150-expozitie-documentara-dedicata-implinirii-a-150-de-ani-de-la-nasterea-acad-petru-bogdan-1873-1944/;
- https://ziarullumina.ro/societate/historica/150-de-ani-de-la-nasterea-academicianului-petru-bogdan-178241.html;
- https://www.bzi.ro/expozitie-documentara-la-iasi-150-de-ani-de-la-nasterea-academicianului-petru-bogdan-4646894;
- https://allevents.in/iasi/expozi%C8%9Bia-de-carte-%E2%80%9Epetru-bogdan-150/200024050360656;
- https://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/stiri/documente-rare-si-fotografii-de-epoca-din-viata-savantului-petru-bogdan-expuse-la-bcu-iasi–345261.html;
- https://portal.revistatimpul.ro/eveniment/biblioteca-centrala-universitara-mihai-eminescu-iasi-evenimentele-lunii-februarie-2023/;
- https://360.uaic.ro/blog/2023/02/06/biblioteca-centrala-universitara-mihai-eminescu-organizeaza-expozitia-documentara-petru-bogdan-150/;
- https://www.stireadeiasi.ro/stiri-locale/expozitie-documentara-la-bcu-iasi-dedicata-implinirii-a-150-de-ani-de-la-nasterea-acad-petru-bogdan/;
- https://fb.watch/j89OxP_7pM/;
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGRXoo1c3g;
- http://administrare.chimie.upb.ro/schr/doc/publicatii/buletinul-societatii-de-chimie-din-romania/2023-1.pdf;
- https://ziare.com/ziare-iasi/stiri-actualitate/documente-rare-si-fotografii-de-epoca-din-viata-savantului-petru-bogdan-expuse-la-bcu-iasi-8820280;
- https://www.ziarelive.ro/stiri/documente-rare-si-fotografii-de-epoca-din-viata-savantului-petru-bogdan-expuse-la-bcu-iasi.html;
- https://ziaru.ro/expozitie-documentara-la-iasi-150-de-ani-de-la-nasterea-academicianului-petru-bogdan/;
- https://www.uaic.ro/revista_presei/revista-presei-7-februarie-2023/;
- https://www.uaic.ro/revista_presei/revista-presei-8-februarie-2023/.
On the website of the Central University Library `Mihai Eminescu` Iasi you can also visit a virtual exhibition with the same title, `Petru Bogdan – 150`, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Petru Bogdan, by accessing the link: http://site-vechi.bcu-iasi.ro/Petru-Bogdan-150-expozitie-documentara-virtuala.