Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea ; pen name of Barbu Ștefan; April 11, 1858 in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

– April 29, 1918 in Iași) was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n writer and poet, considered one of the greatest figures in the National awakening of Romania.

Early life and studies

Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea was born on April 11, 1858 in the village of Delea Nouă, now a suburb of

. He was the ninth child of Ștefan Tudorică Albu and Iana (Ioana). His father originates in Vrancea. Assigned to Sohatu,

Ilfov Ilfov () is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like subur ...

, he leaves Vrancea for

and becomes guildmaster of carters transporting grain from the scaffolds of Giurgiu and

Oltenița Oltenița () is a city in Călărași County, Muntenia, Romania, on the left bank of the river Argeș, where its waters flow into the Danube. Geography The city is located in the southwestern part of the county; it stands across the Danube fro ...

. Barbu's mother was the daughter of widow Stana from Postovari, on the Filipescu estate. He spent the first years of life with his father, then learned to read and write with deacon Ion Pestreanu from St. George the New Church. In 1866, Barbu is enrolled in the School of boys no. 4 directly in the second grade. Educator Spirache Dănilescu add the father's surname suffix "-escu", and thus the future writer bears the name Barbu Ștefănescu. In 1867 he transfers to the Royal School, where will follow the third and fourth classes. He follows high school at Gheorghe Lazăr, first class, and the other seven at St. Sava. In 1878 is enrolled in the Faculty of Law in Bucharest. After sustaining license (1882) goes to specialization in Paris, but fails to get his doctorate.

Literary activity

Delavrancea, Musca şi Piciorul d-luĭ Filipescu, Foaia Populară, 14 mai 1900

Due to his extremely laborious work, in 1912 he became a titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its byl ...

. Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea unfolds a varied activity: substitute teacher at the Faculty of Letters of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

, journalist, lawyer (is famous the ''Caion'' trial, filed to

Ion Luca Caragiale Ion Luca Caragiale (; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179-184 – 9 June 1912) was a Romanian playw ...

in conjunction with the paternity of drama ''The Scourge'', when in the courtroom, to listen to the arguments of lawyers, was entered only upon invitation), writer (novelist and playwright). His publicistic activity consists in the collaboration with newspapers ''

România Liberă ''România liberă'' ("") is a Romanian daily newspaper founded in 1943 and currently based in Bucharest. A newspaper of the same name also existed between 1877 and 1888. History and profile The name ''România liberă'' was first used by a dai ...

'' and ''Epoca'' (since 1884), whose editor was; in 1887 leads, for a short period, ''Lupta Literară'', and the following year becomes editor of

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu ( 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist, who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Life He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...

's magazine ''Revista Nouă'' and collaborator to ''Democrația'' and ''Voința națională''; since 1893 starts working with ''Literatura și știința'' of

Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea (born Solomon Katz; 1855, village of Slavyanka near Yekaterinoslav (modern Dnipro), then in Imperial Russia – 1920, Bucharest) was a Romanian Marxist theorist, politician, sociologist, literary critic, and j ...

. Other publications that worked over time were: ''Revista Literară'', ''Familia'', ''Românul''. In literature debuts in 1877 with patriotic poem ''Stante'', part of volume ''Poiana lungă'', signed Barbu, and in 1883 debuts as novelist with ''Sultănica'', follows ''Bunicul'', ''Bunica'', ''Domnul Vucea'' and, especially, ''Hagi Tudose'' (1903). In the following year publishes under the pseudonym "Delavrancea". Drawing on folk, he published several tales: ''Neghiniță'', ''Palatul de cleștar'', ''Dăparte, dăparte'', ''Moș Crăciun'', etc. Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea is widely known especially for his historical trilogy: ''Apus de soare'' (1909), ''Viforul'' (1910), ''Luceafărul'' (1910), full of romantic breath.

As politician

As a politician, is distinguished by holding several dignities: *Mayor of Bucharest (1899–1901), *Minister of Public Works (December 29, 1910 – March 27, 1912), *Minister of Industry and Trade (since July 10, 1917), deputy.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stefanescu Delavrancea, Barbu 19th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets Romanian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Bucharest Burials at Eternitatea cemetery 1858 births 1918 deaths Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian poets Titular members of the Romanian Academy 19th-century male writers Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Romanian Ministers of Public Works Romanian Ministers of Industry and Commerce 20th-century Romanian male writers