Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea

Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea; pen name of Barbu Ștefan; April 11, 1858 – April 29, 1918) was a Romanian writer and poet, considered one of the greatest figures in the National awakening of Romania.

Early life and studies He was born on April 11, 1858, in Delea Nouă, then a village in Ilfov County, now a suburb of Bucharest. He was the ninth child of Ștefan Tudorică Albu and Iana (Ioana). His father originated from Vrancea County. Assigned to Sohatu, Ilfov County, he left Vrancea for Bucharest and became guildmaster of carters transporting grain from the scaffolds of Giurgiu and Oltenița. Barbu's mother was the daughter of widow Stana from Postovari, on the Filipescu estate. In 1866, he enrolled in the Boys' School no. 4 directly in the second grade. Educator Spirache Dănilescu added the father's surname suffix "-escu", and thus the future writer bore the name Barbu Ștefănescu. In 1867 he transferred to the Royal School, where he followed the third and fourth classes. He attended the first class of high school at Gheorghe Lazăr, and the other seven classes at Saint Sava. In 1878 he enrolled in the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest. After graduating in 1882, he went for specialization in Paris, but failed to obtain his doctorate.

His publicistic activity consisted in collaboration with several newspapers, including România Liberă and Epoca (from 1884), whose editor he was. In 1887 he led, for a short period, Lupta Literară, and the following year he became editor of Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu's magazine Revista Nouă and a collaborator to Democrația and Voința națională. In 1893 he started working with Literatura și știința of Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea. Other publications to which he contributed were: Revista Literară, Familia, and Românul. Mayor of Bucharest (June 1899 – February 1901). Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies (elected 1899). Minister of Public Works (December 29, 1910 – March 27, 1912). Minister of Industry and Commerce (from July 10, 1917 – January 28, 1918).

Personal life

He married Maria Delavrancea, with whom he had four children, including Cella Delavrancea and Henrieta Delavrancea. He died in 1918 in Iași and was buried in the city's Eternitatea Cemetery.