Iacob C. Negruzzi (December 31, 1842 – January 6, 1932) was a

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

n, later

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n poet and prose writer. Born in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

, he was the son of

Constantin Negruzzi Constantin Negruzzi (; first name often Costache ; 1808–24 August 1868) was a Romanian poet, novelist, translator, playwright, and politician. Born in Trifeștii Vechi, Moldavia, he studied at home with a Greek teacher. He admitted in a late ...

and his wife Maria (''née'' Gane). Living in Berlin between 1853 and 1863, he attended high school, followed by the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, from which he obtained a doctorate in 1863. He was a professor at the

University of Iași The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in , Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former was converted to a university, the University of , as it was named ...

from 1864 to 1884, and at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

from 1885 until his retirement in 1897. He was elected to the Assembly of Deputies in 1870, and later joined the

Romanian Senate 2012–2016 2008–2012 In December 2008, the Democratic Liberal Party (PDL) and the political alliance established between the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Conservative Party (PC) formed a coalition government. 2004–2008 In the ...

. He was elected a titular member of the Romanian Academy in 1881, was later its general secretary, and served three terms as Academy president: 1893–1894, 1910-1913 and 1923–1926. Negruzzi was among the founders of ''

Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...

'', and became its secretary in 1868. He played a very significant role as editor of ''

Convorbiri Literare ''Convorbiri Literare'' () is a Romanian literary magazine published in Romania. It is among the most important journals of the nineteenth-century Romania. History and profile ''Convorbiri Literare'' was founded by Titu Maiorescu in 1867. The ma ...

'', ensuring the magazine's regular appearance by investing an immense amount of energy and making significant sacrifices, including material ones. He continued as editor for ten years after moving to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in 1885. He wrote reviews and notes in ''Convorbiri''; published selections from ''Copii de pe natură'' (which appeared in book form in 1874), as well as the novel ''Mihai Vereanu'' (which appeared in 1873); and initiated a column called "Corespondență", probably the country's first true

letter to the editor A letter to the editor (LTE) is a Letter (message), letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through ...

section. Negruzzi was a member of the

Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society The Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society (, ) is an Aromanian cultural organization in Romania. It was founded on 23 September 1879, succeeding the Macedo-Romanian Committee established in 1860. The SCMR has the aim of preserving and developing the ...

. His press debut came in 1866, with a one-act play that appeared in ''Foaia Soțietății pentru Literatura și Cultura Română în Bucovina''; his first book was the 1872 ''Poezii''. Although written starting in 1889, ''Amintirile din "Junimea"'' was only published in 1921. He translated several plays by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

(''

The Robbers ''The Robbers'' (', ) is the first dramatic play by German playwright Friedrich Schiller. The play was published in 1781 and premiered on 13 January 1782 in Mannheim and was inspired by Leisewitz's earlier play '' Julius of Taranto''. It was wr ...

'', '' Fiesco'' and ''

Intrigue and Love ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'', or ''Luise Miller'' (, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act Play (theatre), play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, it was ...

'' appeared in book form in 1871; '' The Maid of Orleans'' in ''Convorbiri Literare'' in 1883; ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'' and '' Mary Stuart'' in the last of his six-volume complete works that came out between 1893 and 1897). Other translations included Romantic poetry, both French (

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

) and German (Schiller and

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

), published in ''Poezii''.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 208. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004. His wife was Maria Rosetti.Octav George Lecca, ''Familiile boerești române: istoric și genealogie dupe isvoare autentice'', p. 363. Bucharest: Editura Minerva, 1899.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Negruzzi, Iacob 1842 births 1932 deaths Politicians from Iași Romanian expatriates in Germany People from the Principality of Moldavia Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Romanian poets Romanian novelists 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian translators Romanian magazine editors Junimists Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Romania) Members of the Senate of Romania Presidents of the Romanian Academy 20th-century translators 19th-century translators Members of the Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society