The scientific heritage of Alexandru Proca and the Quantum Physics revolution

'One of the most prodigious phenomena of the recent history of Physics was the extraordinary influence of Einstein's ideas not only on the contemporary scientific theory but also on its applications'. These words have been uttered by outstanding physicist, however slightly known even in his native country, at the first jubilee of one of the greatest landmarks in physics development - the 'Annus Mirrabilis 1905'. The utterance belongs to Alexander Proca, at the time (1955) Directeur de Recherche at the CNRS - France, and were written for the French weekly magazine 'Le Figaro Litteraire'. Proca was one of the great minds which entered physics at the right time, but probably not in the right place. He belonged to the 'golden generation' that shaped the structure not only of physics but also of entire science and applications, as stated in his own words. Proca devoted his most creative years of his life to the development of a sound relativistic quantum theory. In the effervescent years of the fourth decade of the 20th century, among outstanding scientists like de Broglie, Schroedinger, Pauli, Heisenberg, Bohr, or Dirac, Proca found an elegant and original path that remains even today modern and valid. This is why it is a fact of gratitude to revive his memory after half a century elapsed since he paid homage to the memory of Einstein. (author)