Alexandru Piru

Alexandru Piru (August 22, 1917 – November 6, 1993) was a Romanian literary critic and historian.

Born in Mărgineni, Bacău County, his parents were Vasile, a notary, and his wife Elena (née Chelaru). In 1936, he graduated from Ferdinand I High School in Bacău, thereupon enrolling in the literature and philosophy faculty of the University of Iași. He graduated in 1940, and completed the pedagogical academy in Bucharest the following year. From 1943 to 1944, he taught at the National College in Iași. Piru then settled for good in Bucharest. In early 1946, he became a teaching assistant in George Călinescu's department at the University of Bucharest. In mid-1947, he received a doctorate; the thesis dealt with the works of Garabet Ibrăileanu. In 1967, he was awarded a doctorate in philology. In 2006, he was posthumously elected to the Academy.