Ion Codru-Drăgușanu (November 9, 1818–October 26, 1884) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

ethnic Romanian prose writer. He was born in

Drăguș Drăguș (german: Drachenbach, Traschen; hu, Dragus) is a commune in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Drăguș, part of Viștea Commune until being split off in 2004. Drăguș is located at the western ...

, Brașov County, in the

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

region. His parents were Adam Plăiaș Codru or Adam al lui German (in his early years, the writer signed as Ioanne Germaniu Codru) and his wife Asinefta (''née'' Trîmbițaș). His family were soldiers in the

Transylvanian Military Frontier The Transylvanian Military Frontier ( ro, Granița Militară Transilvăneană; german: link=no, Siebenbürgische Militärgrenze; hu, Erdélyi határőrvidék) was a territory in the Habsburg monarchy. It was a section of the Habsburg Military Fr ...

, ennobled during the time of

Zsuzsanna Lorántffy Zsuzsanna Lorántffy, anglicized as Susanna Lorantffy (1602 in Ónod, Hungary – 1660 in Sárospatak, Hungary) was a Princess consort of Transylvania by marriage to György Rákóczi I, Prince of Transylvania. Early life Born as one of th ...

. He studied at the village school, at the German Military Frontier School in nearby Viștea de Jos and for one semester at

Saint Sava College Saint Sava College was one of the earliest academic institutions in Wallachia, Romania. It was the predecessor to both Saint Sava National College and the University of Bucharest. History It was the continuator of the Princely Academy from Buchare ...

in the

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

n capital

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 ...

, but was largely self-taught. He left Transylvania in 1835 and between 1838 and 1846 made several journeys; his travels took him to Hungary, Austria, Italy, Germany, France, England, Russia and Switzerland.

Mihai Zamfir Mihai () is a Romanian given name for males or a surname. It is equivalent to the English name Michael. A variant of the name is Mihail. Its female form is Mihaela. As a given name *Mihai I of Romania (1921–2017), King of Romania until 1947 *Mih ...

"Rastignacul din Făgăraș, Ion Codru Drăgușanu"
in ''România Literară'', nr. 17/2009 From 1846 to 1848, he worked as a teacher in

Ploiești Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest. The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commu ...

. He subsequently held several administrative positions in his native province, culminating with that of deputy captain for the Făgăraș district (1863-1880). He was a participant in the

Wallachian Revolution of 1848 The Wallachian Revolution of 1848 was a Romanian liberal and nationalist uprising in the Principality of Wallachia. Part of the Revolutions of 1848, and closely connected with the unsuccessful revolt in the Principality of Moldavia, it sought t ...

, a deputy for Hațeg in the

Transylvanian Diet The Transylvanian Diet (german: Siebenbürgischer Landtag; hu, erdélyi országgyűlés; ro, Dieta Transilvaniei) was an important legislative, administrative and judicial body of the Principality (from 1765 Grand Principality) of Transylvania ...

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

from 1863, secretary of the Military Frontier School Committee (1880-1884) and vice president of Astra's Făgăraș chapter. His first published work was ''Cuvânt scholastic'', which appeared in ''Universul'' newspaper in 1848. He also contributed to ''Foaie pentru minte, inimă și literatură'', ''Concordia'', ''Albina'', ''Telegraful român'', ''Federațiunea'', ''

Gazeta Transilvaniei ''Gazeta de Transilvania'' was the first Romanian-language newspaper to be published in Transylvania. It was founded by George Bariț in 1838 in Brașov. It played a very important role in the awakening of the Romanian national conscience in Trans ...

'', '' Familia'' and ''Transilvania''. His literary reputation was established by ''Peregrinul transelvan'' (1865), among the most interesting travel accounts published in the post-1848 era. He died in Sibiu.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. I, p. 364. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Codru-Dragusanu, Ion 1818 births 1884 deaths People from Brașov County Romanian Austro-Hungarians Romanian schoolteachers Romanian civil servants Romanian travel writers Romanian revolutionaries People of the Revolutions of 1848