Dimitar Agura. Dimitar Dimitrov Agura ( bg, Димитър Димитров Агура; 26 October 1849 – 11 October 1911) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n historian, one of the first professors of history at

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

and a

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the university. Agura was born to a Bessarabian Bulgarian family in Chushmelia,

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

, then part of the

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

(today Krynychne,

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administr ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). He started his education in

Bolgrad Bolhrad ( uk, Болгра́д, Bolhrad, ; bg, Болград, Bolgrad; ro, Bolgrad, Gagauz: ''Bolgrad''), is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center o ...

and finished the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

in Iaşi,

, in 1868. Agura graduated in history from the

University of Iaşi The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...

in 1872. He proceeded to work as a teacher in

Bârlad Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia. At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret, the other skirting th ...

(1872–1874) and a school inspector in Iaşi and

Vaslui Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara. History Archaeological surveys indicate ...

. For several years, he taught

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...

and

Bulgarian history The history of Bulgaria can be traced from the first settlements on the lands of modern Bulgaria to its formation as a nation-state, and includes the history of the Bulgarian people and their origin. The earliest evidence of hominid occupation d ...

at the

Bolhrad High School The Georgi Sava Rakovski Bolhrad High School ( uk, Болградська гімназія імені Г.С. Раковського, ''Bolhrads′ka himnaziya im. H.S. Rakovs′koho''); bg, Болградска гимназия „Георги С ...

(1875–1878). With the

Liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishmen ...

in 1878, Dimitar Agura arrived in the newly established

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...

and worked as a clerk at the

Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

(1879–1883). He was an interim Minister of Popular Enlightenment in

Leonid Sobolev Leonid Nikolayevich Sobolev (russian: Леонид Николаевич Соболев) (9 June 1844 – 13 October 1913) was an Imperial Russian Army general and politician. A veteran of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, General Sobole ...

's cabinet (1883). After that, he was director of the

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

(1884–1885) and

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

(1885–1889) men's high schools. The Sofia University was founded in 1888 and Agura became a lecturer of history at the university in 1889. He was

of Sofia University three times (1889–1890, 1892–1895, 1907–1908). He was the university's second rector, after fellow Bessarabian Bulgarian

Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan Aleksandar Stoyanov Teodorov-Balan ( bg, Александър Стоянов Теодоров-Балан; 27 October 1859 – 12 February 1959) was a Bulgarian linguist, historian and bibliographer. Balan was born in the village of Kubey in th ...

. In 1900, Agura became an acting member of the

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy ...

. In 1901, he was among the founders of the Bulgarian Historical Society; he remained its chairman until his death. Dimitar Agura died in 1911 in Iaşi, where he was attending the University of Iaşi's 50th anniversary celebrations.

Bibliography

* ''Modern history from the French Revolution until today'' (1890) * ''Notes on a scholarly journey to Romania'' (1893; co-authorship) * ''The Daco-Romanians and their Slavic writing'' (1893; co-authorship) * ''Mediaeval history. Lectures'' (1904)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Agura, Dimitar 1849 births 1911 deaths 19th-century Bulgarian historians Bessarabian Bulgarians People from Odesa Oblast Academic staff of Sofia University Rectors of Sofia University Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 20th-century Bulgarian historians