Dragoș Protopopescu (17 October 1892 – 11 April 1948) was a

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 ...

n writer, poet, critic and philosopher. He was born in

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. The city is an industrial centre ...

, the son of Constantin Popescu and Octavia Blebea. After going to school in his native city, he pursued his studies at the

Saint Sava High School The Saint Sava National College (Romanian: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''), Bucharest, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. It was founded in 1694, under the name of t ...

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 ...

, and then at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest. He continued his education at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, where he obtained in 1924 a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

in English studies, with a thesis about William Congreve written under the direction of

Louis Cazamian Louis François Cazamian (2 April 1877 – 22 September 1965) was a French academic and literary critic. He was the author of many books in both French and English dealing with English literature, including ''A History of English Literature'' (192 ...

. In 1925 Protopopescu was named professor at the University of Cernăuți. From 1926 to 1927 he was the director of the National Theater in Cernăuți, where he hired

Grigore Vasiliu Birlic Grigore Vasiliu Birlic (; January 24, 1905 – February 14, 1970) was a Romanian actor who appeared on stage, television and in films. He was best known for comedic roles. Early life Grigore Vasiliu was born on 24 January 1905 into the family ...

in his first role. After serving as press attaché at the Romanian Legation in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(1928–1930), he became professor at the University of Bucharest, and served for a while as dean of the School of English Language and Literature in the Department of Letters at the university. Politically, Protopopescu supported the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

and

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

organization known as the

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was strongly ...

, and he published the newspaper ''

Buna Vestire Buna may refer to: Places * Buna village, a small Bosnia and Herzegovina village at the confluence of the Buna and Neretva rivers * Buna, Kenya, captured by Italy in the East African Campaign * Bouna, Ivory Coast or Buna * Buna, Papua New Guine ...

'', which was aligned with the Guard. He also actively contributed to other Romanian newspapers such as '' Flacăra'', '' Vieața Nouă'', ''Cuget Românesc'', ''

Cuvântul ''Cuvântul'' (, meaning "The Word") was a daily newspaper, published by philosopher Nae Ionescu in Bucharest, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It ...

'', ''

Gândirea ''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine. Overview Founded by Cezar Pet ...

'', ''Lumea Nouă'', ''Cuvântul Studențesc'', '' Vremea'' and '' Porunca Vremii''. He was arrested and imprisoned in spring 1934 and detained at Jilava Prison during the crackdown on the Iron Guard by

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Carol II's dictatorship. In 1937 he was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

on the list of the "Totul pentru Țară" party. In 1948 Protopopescu was arrested again by the communist authorities. He tried to commit suicide by cutting his veins. He was sent to a hospital in Bucharest and then arrested again by the Securitate. He made a new and successful attempt at suicide: leaning over an elevator shaft, he was decapitated by the cabin.

Books

* * ''Pagini engleze'', București, Editura Cultura Națională, 1925 * ''Fenomenul englez: studii și interpretări'', București, Fundația pentru Literatură și Artă „Regele Carol II”, 1936 (reed. 1996; 2003) * ''Shakespeare: viața și opera'', ediție îngrijită de Fabian Anton, București, Editura Eurosong & Book, 1998 *

References

1892 births 1948 suicides 20th-century Romanian philosophers People from Călărași Romanian writers Romanian philosophers Members of the Iron Guard 20th-century Romanian politicians Academic staff of Chernivtsi University Suicides in Romania Deaths by decapitation 20th-century poets Romanian university and college faculty deans Academic staff of the University of Bucharest University of Paris alumni University of Bucharest alumni Saint Sava National College alumni {{Europe-philosopher-stub