Anghel Demetriescu was born on October 5, 1847, in Alexandria, province of Teleorman, Romania, then under the Ottoman Empire.

He was nevertheless a brilliant student in primary school, to the extent that his parents were urged to encourage him to continue pursuing his studies.

To sustain himself financially, Demetriescu worked as an educator at the Macedo-Romanian School, a position which he obtained with the help of Corneliu Diaconovich.

After completing his college courses, Demetriescu did not pass his licensing examination or the baccalaureate exam at the culmination of high school.

He became a professor in 1869, a time when simply graduating high school was still sufficient for competing for a chair at a faculty, whether secondary or university.