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.
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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.
Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea spent the first years of life with his father, then learned to read and write with deacon Ion Pestreanu from New St. George Church. 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.