Editing Take Ionescu (section)

===Early life and politics===
Born in [[Ploiești]] into a family of [[lower middle class]] origins, the eldest of four male children, he was the son of Ghiță Ioan, an entrepreneur who was facing insolvency, and his wife Eufrosina (or Frosa).<ref name="dobrinunom">{{in lang|ro}} Marius Dobrin, [http://www.respiro.org/Issue6/eseu_dobrin.htm "Take Ionescu – un mare democrat, un mare european. Un om" ("Take Ionescu – a Great Democrat, a Great European. A Man"), in ''Respiro'']</ref><ref name="xeni">Constantin Xeni, "Portrete politice din anii interbelici" ("Political Portraits from the Interwar Years"), in ''[[Magazin Istoric]]'', April 1975</ref> Eufrosina was the descendant of [[Aromanians|Aromanian]] immigrants, and related to the [[Wallachia]]n writer [[Ion Heliade Rădulescu]].<ref name="dobrinunom"/>

During Take's childhood, the family moved to [[Bucharest]] and later to [[Giurgiu]], where Ghiță Ioan began to accumulate a fortune after leasing a segment of the [[customs]] in the city.<ref name="dobrinunom"/><ref name="xeni"/> This allowed him to send his sons to study abroad; after entering the [[Saint Sava National College|Saint Sava High School]] with a [[scholarship]] and graduating with honors, Take Ionescu (as he became known in his student days)<ref name="dobrinunom"/> entered the [[University of Paris]] and took a [[PhD]] in Law, attending courses together with, among others, the future politicians [[Raymond Poincaré]], [[Constantin Dissescu]], [[Constantin Arion]], [[Grigore Andronescu]], [[Alexandru Djuvara]], and [[Alexandru Marghiloman]].<ref name="dobrinunom"/><ref name="xeni"/> During his high school years, he began contributing to literary magazines and authoring works of verse and especially short stories influenced by the style of [[Gérard de Nerval]]<ref name="dobrinunom"/> and including the [[time travel]] story ''Spiritele anului 3000'' ("The Spirits of the Year 3000").<ref name="fmsf">Florin Manolescu, ''Literatura S.F.'' ("Science Fiction Literature"), Editura Univers, Bucharest, 1980, p. 192. {{OCLC|7174578}}</ref>

While in [[Paris]], Ionescu fell in love with an [[England|Englishwoman]] named Bessie Richards, whom he met a charity event, and to whom he dedicated his PhD thesis (''La recherche de la paternité naturelle'', "Research into Natural Parenthood").<ref name="dobrinunom"/> After consulting international law on the matter of marriage, he decided it was best if he were to marry her in [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]].<ref name="dobrinunom"/> They sealed their union in a [[common law marriage]] in [[Brighton]], and later through an [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox]] religious ceremony in [[London]] (November 1881).<ref name="dobrinunom"/> The couple were to settle in Bucharest, but made frequent visits to Bessie's native country for the rest of her life.<ref name="dobrinunom"/>

Upon his return, he opened a highly successful law practice on Bucharest's Costa-Foru Street (later known as Atena Street), and frequently traveled to various areas of the country in order to plead in various cases.<ref name="dobrinunom"/><ref name="xeni"/> His oratorical talent won him the moniker ''Tăkiţă gură de aur'', "Tăkiţă the golden mouthed", based on a pet form of his colloquial name and the title commonly associated with eloquence (''see [[John Chrysostom]]'').<ref name="xeni"/><ref name="lacusta">Ioan Lăcustă, "Take Ionescu, din neuitare" ("Take Ionescu, from Memory"), in ''[[România Literară]]'', nr.33, August 1998 (available through the [http://www.romaniaculturala.ro/Pages/CronicaDeCarte.aspx "Cronică de carte" page at the ''România Culturală'' site]{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }})</ref> He became President of the [[Bar association]] in [[Ilfov County]] (at a time when it included Bucharest), in which capacity he welcomed the first-ever Romanian woman lawyer, [[Sarmiza Bilcescu]] (1891).<ref>Alin Ciupală, ''Femeia în societatea românească a secolului al XIX-lea'' ("Women in 19th Century Romanian Society"), Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 2003, p. 59</ref>

Originally a member of the [[National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875)|National Liberal Party]] (PNL), he was attracted to its [[Liberalism and radicalism in Romania|Radical]] wing (led by [[C. A. Rosetti]]),<ref name="dobrinunompolitic"/> wrote extensively for the Liberal newspaper ''[[Românul]]'', and became a PNL representative in the [[Chamber of Deputies of Romania|Chamber of Deputies]] following the [[1884 Romanian general election|1884 election]].<ref name="xeni"/><ref name="dobrinunompolitic">{{in lang|ro}} Marius Dobrin, [http://www.respiro.org/Issue6/eseu_dobrin.htm "Take Ionescu – un mare democrat, un mare european. Un om politic" ("Take Ionescu – a Great Democrat, a Great European. A Politician"), in ''Respiro'']</ref><ref name="arimiasimidan">Vasile Arimia and Vasile Şimandan, foreword to Constantin Xeni, "Portrete politice din anii interbelici" ("Political Portraits from the Interwar Years"), in ''[[Magazin Istoric]]'', April 1975</ref> One year later, while still in office, he left the PNL — this came at a time when opposition forces rallied against the policies of [[List of Prime Ministers of Romania|Premier]] [[Ion Brătianu]], whom Ionescu had originally supported.<ref name="dobrinunompolitic"/> Initially running as an independent in the [[1888 Romanian general election|election of 1888]], being elected in [[Craiova]],<ref name="dobrinunompolitic"/> he switched to [[Conservatism|conservative]] politics (generally associated with the landowner circles), and joined the [[Conservative Party (Romania, 1880–1918)|Conservative Party]] in 1891.<ref name="dobrinunompolitic"/><ref name="arimiasimidan"/>