Mihai Eminescu
19th century Romanian poet
Died when: 39 years 151 days (473 months)Star Sign: Capricorn
Mihai Eminescu (Romanian pronunciation: [mi'haj emi'nesku]; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet.
Eminescu was an active member of the Junimea literary society and worked as an editor for the newspaper Timpul ("The Time"), the official newspaper of the Conservative Party (1880–1918).
His poetry was first published when he was 16 and he went to Vienna, Austria to study when he was 19.The poet's manuscripts, containing 46 volumes and approximately 14,000 pages, were offered by Titu Maiorescu as a gift to the Romanian Academy during the meeting that was held on 25 January 1902.
Notable works include Luceafarul (The Vesper/The Evening Star/The Lucifer/The Daystar), Oda în metru antic (Ode in Ancient Meter), and the five Letters (Epistles/Satires).
In his poems, he frequently used metaphysical, mythological and historical subjects.His father was Gheorghe Eminovici, an aristocrat from Bukovina, which was then part of the Austrian Empire (while his grandfather came from Banat).
He crossed the border into Moldavia, settling in Ipote?ti, near the town of Boto?ani.He married Raluca Iura?cu, an heiress of an old noble family.
In a Junimea register, Eminescu wrote down his birthday date as 22 December 1849, while in the documents of Cernau?i Gymnasium, where Eminescu studied, his birth date is 15 January 1850.
Nevertheless, Titu Maiorescu, in his work Eminescu and His Poems (1889) quoted N.D.Giurescu's research and adopted his conclusion regarding the date and place of Mihai Eminescu's birth, as being 15 January 1850, in Boto?ani.
This date resulted from several sources, among which there was a file of notes on christenings from the archives of the Uspenia (Princely) Church of Boto?ani; inside this file, the date of birth was "15 January 1850" and the date of christening was the 21st of the same month.
The date of his birth was confirmed by the poet's elder sister, Aglae Drogli, who affirmed that the place of birth was the village of Ipote?ti, Boto?ani County.
