Hristo G. Danov
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Hristo Gruev Danov ( bg, Христо Груев Данов; 27 August 1828 – 11 December 1911) was a
Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...
enlightener, teacher and book publisher of the
Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...
who is regarded as the father of organized book publishing in the Bulgarian lands and hailed as the "Bulgarian
Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its kind, earlier designs w ...
". After 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, he was also a politician and mayor of Plovdiv.


Biography

Danov was born in Klisura, a town in Ottoman
Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...
(today in central
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 ...
), to the family of a frieze waver. He commenced his education at the Klisura religious school before moving to the class school in
Panagyurishte Panagyurishte ( bg, Панагюрище, also transliterated ''Panagjurište'', ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, situated in a small valley in the Sredna Gora mountains. It is 91 km east of Sofia, 43 km north of P ...
opened by Sava Radulov, where he studied in 1841–1842. However, his father's death meant Danov had to return to Klisura and become a craftsman so as to sustain the family. In 1847, he again enrolled at the Panagyurishte school, and in 1848–1850 he was a student at
Nayden Gerov Nayden Gerov ( bg, Найден Геров), born Nayden Gerov Hadzhidobrevich ( bg, Найден Геров Хаджидобревич) February 23, 1823, Koprivshtitsa – October 9, 1900, Plovdiv) was a Bulgarian linguist, folklorist, writer ...
's school in
Koprivshtitsa Koprivshtitsa ( bg, Копривщица, pronounced , from the Bulgarian word , ''kopriva'', meaning "nettle") is a historic town in the Koprivshtitsa Municipality in Sofia Province, central Bulgaria, lying on the Topolnitsa River among the S ...
. Having completed his education, Hristo Danov became a teacher in Strelcha (1851–1852) and
Perushtitsa Perushtitsa ( bg, Перущица ) or Perushtitza is a Bulgarian town located in Perushtitsa Municipality, Plovdiv Province at the foot of the Rhodopes, 22 kilometers south of Plovdiv. The name ''Perushtitsa'' comes from the word ''Peristitsa' ...
(1852–1853). During the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
(1853–1856) he was a teacher in
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 ...
. In 1856, Danov returned to Klisura, where he established the town's first modern class school. Danov's work as a publisher began in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, the capital of the
Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was ...
, where he printed the calendar ''Balkan Mountain Boy. Calendar for the 1856 Leap Year''. Together with the teacher Yacho (Yoakim) Truvchev and the bookbinder Nyagul Boyadzhiyski, he founded the
bindery Bindery refers to a studio, workshop or factory where sheets of (usually) paper are fastened together to make books, but also where gold and other decorative elements are added to the exterior of books, where boxes or slipcases for books are made ...
''Druzhestvena knigoveznitsa'' (Дружествена книговезница) in 1857 in Plovdiv. The bindery would gradually grow to become a bookshop and then emerge as the first Bulgarian publishing house. By 1862, the company had evolved into the Hristo G. Danov & Co. Publishing House, and
Yoakim Gruev Joakim Gruev ( bg, Йоаким Груев, died 1912) was a Bulgarian teacher and translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English languag ...
had joined as a partner. In 1862, the Hristo G. Danov & Co. Publishing House had branches in
Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
and Veles. In 1874, Danov's publishing house opened its own printing office in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, the Austro–Hungarian capital. As a publisher, Danov contributed greatly to the development of Bulgarian education in the Bulgarian National Revival period. His publishing house issued
Neofit Rilski Neofit Rilski ( bg, Неофит Рилски) or Neophyte of Rila (Bansko, 1793 – January 4, 1881), born Nikola Poppetrov Benin ( bg, Никола Поппетров Бенин) was a 19th-century Bulgarian monk, teacher and artist, and an impor ...
's mutual instruction graphs, textbooks and geographic maps for the school curriculum, as well as the first Bulgarian large-scale wall maps. Other books published by Danov included individual works by
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...
,
Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
,
Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...
and
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
. In 1876, in the wake of the major anti-Ottoman
April Uprising The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...
organized by the Bulgarian population, Danov was imprisoned for three months in Plovdiv. Once released, he moved to
Svishtov Svishtov ( bg, Свищов ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipalit ...
, where he was based for the most of the
Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ( tr, 93 Harbi, lit=War of ’93, named for the year 1293 in the Islamic calendar; russian: Русско-турецкая война, Russko-turetskaya voyna, "Russian–Turkish war") was a conflict between th ...
. As the war led to Bulgaria's liberation, Danov had his printing office moved from Vienna to Plovdiv (which in 1878 became the capital of autonomous
Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Otto ...
, which united with the
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 ...
in 1885). From 1878 to 1885 he issued the ''Maritsa'' newspaper, the first all-Bulgarian newspaper, which was supported by vice-governor
Todor Burmov Todor ( Bulgarian, and sr, Тодор/Todor) is a Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian given name, a local rendering of the name Theodore. The Hungarian form of the name is rendered similarly as ''Tódor''. It is the most common name in Bulgarian vil ...
and the interim
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n government. In 1880, the publishing house expanded with branches in Lom and
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 ...
. Danov himself became an associate member of the Bulgarian Literary Society (today 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 1881, and an honorary member in 1900. Danov began his political career as a member of the Eastern Rumelia Regional Assembly in 1882. Between 1 February 1897 and 2 July 1899, he was mayor of Plovdiv, for which he asked to receive no salary. It was during his term that the first town plan of Plovdiv was designed by
Josef Schnitter Josef Schnitter ( bg, Йосиф Шнитер, ''Yosif Shniter''; 16 October 1852–26 April 1914) was a Czech– Bulgarian architect, engineer and geodesist credited with shaping the modern appearance of Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second-largest city. S ...
. Another of Danov's accomplishments as a mayor was the afforestation of two of Plovdiv's seven hills. Danov died in 1911 and was interred at the Church of the Holy Mother of God in Plovdiv. Among Hristo G. Danov's descendants are several prominent Bulgarians, including historian Hristo M. Danov (1908–1997) and lawyer Hristo Danov (1922–2003). His daughter-in-law, Sofia Danova (1879–1946), was the first Bulgarian woman to obtain a mathematics degree. Danov's House in Plovdiv's Old Town is home to one of the
Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum The Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum ( bg, Регионален исторически музей Пловдив, ''Regionalen istoricheski muzey Plovdiv'') is a historical museum in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Established in 1951, it covers ...
's expositions, dedicated to the history of Bulgarian publishing. The house dates to the mid-19th century. Danov's namesake award was established in 1999 and is presented annually by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture and the Plovdiv National Book Center to recognize those who make contributions to Bulgarian literary culture.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danov, Hristo G. Bulgarian educators Bulgarian printers Bulgarian publishers (people) Mayors of Plovdiv 1828 births 1911 deaths People from Plovdiv Province Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 19th-century Bulgarian people 19th-century publishers (people)