Spiridon Popescu (August 13, 1864 – May 8, 1933) 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 prose writer. Born in Rogojeni,

Galați County Galați () is a county ( județ) of Romania, in Moldavia region, with the capital city at Galați. History Historically Galați is part of Moldavia. In 1858, it was represented by Alexandru Ioan Cuza at the ''ad hoc Divan'' at Iași, in the wa ...

, his parents were the peasant Constantin Dumitrașcu al Popei and his wife Safta (''née'' Tofan). He attended seminary 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 ...

and at

Socola Monastery Socola Monastery or ''Schimbarea la Față'' (" Transfiguration") was a Romanian Orthodox establishment located in the eponymous quarter of southern Iaşi, Romania. Founded during Moldavia's existence as a state, it was erected and dedicated by ...

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 ...

, earning his high school degree at age 26. He studied physics and mathematics at the

University of Iași 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 ...

and took courses at the higher normal school, earning a mathematics degree at age 31. He taught mathematics 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 ...

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 ...

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. Names Th ...

, Galați and, from 1904, in the national 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 ...

. Within the

Education Ministry An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

, Popescu was responsible for normal primary education nationwide. He was elected both to the Assembly of Deputies and to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Popescu made his literary debut in the Iași-based ''Arhiva'' in 1890. Encouraged by his brother-in-law

Constantin Stere Constantin G. Stere or Constantin Sterea (Romanian; russian: Константин Егорович Стере, ''Konstantin Yegorovich Stere'' or Константин Георгиевич Стере, ''Konstantin Georgiyevich Stere''; also known u ...

, he wrote for ''Evenimentul literar'', and for ''Albina''. As an active participant in the policy of village education promoted by

Spiru Haret Spiru C. Haret (; 15 February 1851 – 17 December 1912) was a Romanian mathematician, astronomer, and politician. He made a fundamental contribution to the ''n''-body problem in celestial mechanics by proving that using a third degree approx ...

, he also contributed to ''

Viața Românească ''Viața Românească'' (, "The Romanian Life") is a monthly literary magazine published in Romania. Formerly the platform of the left-wing traditionalist trend known as poporanism, it is now one of the Writers' Union of Romania's main venues. Th ...

'', where he published the Poporanist novellas ''Moș Gheorghe la expoziție'' (1907) and ''Rătăcirea din Stoborăni'' (1909). His first book was ''Considerațiuni psihologice din viața poporului român'' (1893), followed by ''Din povestirile unui vânător de lupi'' (1905), ''Moș Gheorghe la expoziție'' (1912) and the short story collection ''Zori de iulie'' (1912).Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 412-13. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popescu, Spiridon 1864 births 1933 deaths People from Galați County Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni Romanian schoolteachers Romanian novelists Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers Poporanists Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania People from the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia