Constantin David (activist)

Born in a working-class family in Bucharest, Romania's capital, Constantin David spent his childhood near the Grivița Railway Yards, an important centre of the workers' movement.

Active primarily among the youth, in 1934 he helped organise a cinema on Calea Griviței, which also served as a meeting place for the militants attempting to counter the growing influence of the Iron Guard.

[6] With the installation of an undisguised fascist regime headed by Ion Antonescu and the Iron Guard in September 1940, David's activity in the Prahova Valley came under the scrutiny of the new authorities.

In spite of the conditions, David continued his activism, most notably participating in the major anti-fascist demonstration organised by Miron Constantinescu in the Obor neighbourhood of Bucharest on November 3, 1940.

On the night of January 20/21, 1941, during the Legionnaires' rebellion, David was kidnapped from his home by an Iron Guard squad and brought to the Bucharest Police Headquarters, where he was severely beaten and ultimately assassinated.

[8] After the PCR came to power in the late 1940s, Constantin David was hailed as a hero of the working class, and his remains were moved to the Liberty Park mausoleum, where they stood until removed in the aftermath of the 1989 Romanian Revolution.