The first woman in the world who travel to the North Pole was born in Târgoviște

Smaranda Gheorghiu, daughter of Târgoviște, was born on October the 5th, 1857. She was the niece of Grigore Alexandrescu, a descendant of the boyar families Andronescu and Vlădescu.

Writer and activist for women's rights, also known as Maica Smara as Veronica Micle called her, Smaranda Gheorghiu was, above all, the soul of the school. Teacher, general inspector for primary education in the Ministry of Public Instruction, she was considered the founder of the "outdoor school" in Romania, supporting the mandatory introduction in school curricula of gymnastics, manual work, founding vocational schools, theorizing and practically exemplifying the importance school trips, as an instructive-educational method.

Very passionate about travel, she traveled all over Romania, but also Europe. She was the first woman in the world to make it to the North Pole in 1902.