Pavel Dan

Pavel Dan (September 3, 1907 – August 2, 1937) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian prose writer.

He was born in Clapa, Cluj County, in the Transylvania region. His parents, Simion Dan and Maria (née Tescariu), were poor peasants. He began primary school in 1914, and would later caricature his classmate Samoilă Gabor in "Intelectualii". He took part in a peasant uprising in nearby Țigăreni village, later transposing the event into another era in "Iobagii". In 1919, following the union of Transylvania with Romania, he entered the Romanian high school in Turda; "Întâlnire" and "Vedenii din copilărie" dealt with the atmosphere of the provincial town. During this period, the only positive figure in Dan's life was his teacher Teodor Murășanu, himself a writer and editor at Pagini literare, where Dan also contributed. As a schoolboy, he was preoccupied by large-scale literary projects that remained unfinished (the novels Mizerie and Logodnica, and the novella O răzbunare sângeroasă). He was a participant in the activities of the Titu Maiorescu reading society, and the magazine Fire de tort appeared upon his initiative in 1925. In 1927, he entered the literature faculty of the University of Cluj; his main specialty was Romanian language, with a secondary field being Latin. He was involved in Victor Papilian's circle.

A high school in Câmpia Turzii and an elementary school in Tritenii de Jos now bear his name.