Ioan S. Nenițescu (April 11, 1854–February 23, 1901) was a Romanian poet and playwright. Born in

Galați Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most par ...

, his parents were Ștefan Vasiliu, a manual laborer, and his wife Elisabeta (''née'' Zaharia). After completing the Alexandru Ioan I commercial school in his native town, he finished high school, passing the exit examination at

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...

. He also audited courses at the University Iași's literature faculty. Nenițescu attended an officers' school, volunteered in the

Romanian War of Independence The Romanian War of Independence is the name used in Romanian historiography to refer to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), following which Romania, fighting on the Russian side, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire. On , Romania and the R ...

and was wounded at Grivitsa. He then studied at the philosophy faculty of the University of Berlin, taking a doctorate in 1887 at Leipzig University with a thesis on

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...

. He worked as a schoolteacher and inspector in Bucharest. He traveled south of the Danube, a trip that resulted in an ample "ethnic and statistical study of the Aromanians" (''De la românii din Turcia Europeană'', 1895). He sat in the Assembly of Deputies for his native

Covurlui County Covurlui County is one of the historic counties of Moldavia, Romania. The county seat was Galați. In 1938, the county was disestablished and incorporated into the newly formed Ținutul Dunării, but it was re-established in 1940 after the fall of ...

, and also served as prefect of Tulcea County in the Dobruja region. Nenițescu's first work appeared in the Galați newspaper ''Gardistul civic''. A member of '' Junimea'', he published numerous poems in its organ ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' ( Romanian: ''Literary Talks'') is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by ...

''. He also contributed to ''Albina'', ''Amicul copiilor'', ''Revista nouă'', ''Românul literar'', ''Șezătoarea'' and ''Ziarul presei''. While in Bucharest from 1884 to 1888, he published ''Țara nouă'' magazine, mainly submitting articles on pedagogy, ethics and sociology. His first book was the 1880 poetry volume ''Flori de primăvară'', followed by ''Șoimii de la Războieni'' (1882) and ''Pui de lei'' (1891, including an eponymous poem). Of the plays he wrote, the only one he published was ''Radu de la Afumați'' (1897). In 1896, Nenițescu was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy. He died in Buzău. His son Ștefan also became a poet.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, pp. 214-15. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nenitescu, Ioan 1854 births 1901 deaths People from Galați People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia Romanian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Leipzig University alumni Romanian poets 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian magazine editors Romanian schoolteachers Romanian civil servants Romanian ethnographers Junimists Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Prefects of Romania Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy