Mihai Eminescu

Mihai Eminescu (real name Mihail Eminovici) was born on January 15, 1850 in Botosani, Romania. He is the most famous Romanian poet of all times.

His father was Gheorghe Eminovici from Calinesti, a Romanian village in Suceava county, Bucovina, which was then part of the Austrian Empire (while his father came from Banat). He crossed the border into Moldavia, settling in Ipotesti, near the town of Botosani. He married Raluca Iurascu, an heiress of an old aristocratic Moldavian family.

In a register of the members of Junimea, Eminescu himself wrote down the date of his birth as December 22, 1849 and in the documents of the Gymnasium from Cernauti, where Eminescu studied, the date of December 14, 1849 is written down as his birthday. Nevertheless, Titu Maiorescu, in his work Eminescu and His Poems (1889) quoted N. D. Giurescu's researches and adopted his conclusion regarding the date and place of Mihai Eminescu's birth, as being January 15, 1850, in Botosani.

This date resulted from several sources, amongst which there was a file of notes on christenings from the archives of the Uspenia Church of Botosani; inside this file, the date of birth was „January 15, 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 Ipotesti.

Between 1858 and 1866 he goes to school with intermissions in Cernauti. In 1866 his teacher- Aron Pumnul passes away, he writes the poem "At the Aron Pumnul's grave" signed with the name Mihail Eminovici (his real name).

In march 1866 he debutes as a poet in Iosif Vulcan magazine with " If I would have". He is the one that changes his real name-Mihail Eminovici into Mihai Eminescu.

From 1866 till 1869 he works as a clerk and as a secretary. He translates some writings from German. and he continues writing poems like:

-"The Hope";
-"Night's Mysteries";
-"At Heliade";
-"At Bucovina";

Between 1869 and 1872 he studies law and philosophy in Viena. Here he meets Veronica Micle and his first signs of illness appear. 1872-1874 he studies in Berlin with a scholarship given by the Junimea society.
He writes other poetries like:

-"Mortua Est";
-"Protecting Angel";
-"The Night";
-"Angel and Demon";
-"Blue Flower"

He returns in Romania in 1874 where he starts working as the Central Library director, as a substitute teacher, as a school inspector, and as an editor at "Iasi's paper".

He becomes friend with Ion Creanga(one of the most famous Romanian writers). In this time he has financial and family problems, but he also falls in love with Veronica Micle.

In 1877 he moves to Bucharest where he becomes chief-editor at "The Time" news-paper. Here he develops an exceptional journalistic career, writing his best poems - "The Letters" and "The Evening Star". In this time his health deteriorates allot.

In 1883 very overwrought he becomes very ill, being hospitalized in doctor Sutu' s sanatorium and after that in a hospital near Vienna. Finally he passes away in 1889 at doctor Sutu's sanatorium.