Gheorghe Asachi (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈɡe̯orɡe aˈsaki],
surname also spelled Asaki; 1 March 1788 â€" 12 November 1869) was a
Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet, painter, historian,
dramatist and translator. An Enlightenment-educated polymath and
polyglot, he was one of the most influential people of his generation.
Asachi was a respected journalist and political figure, as well as
active in technical fields such as civil engineering and pedagogy,
and, for long, the civil servant charged with overseeing all Moldavian
schools. Among his leading achievements were the issuing of Albina
Românească, a highly influential magazine, and the creation of
Academia Mihăileană, which replaced Greek-language education with
teaching in Romanian. His literary works combined a taste for
Classicism with Romantic tenets, while his version of the literary
language relied on archaisms and borrowings from the Moldavian
dialect.A controversial political figure, Asachi endorsed the Imperial
Russian presence in Moldavia and played a major part in establishing
the Regulamentul Organic regime, while supporting the rule of Prince
Mihail Sturdza. He thus came to clash with representatives of the
liberal current, and opposed both the Moldavian revolution of 1848 and
the country's union with Wallachia. Engaged in a long polemic with the
liberal leader Mihail Kogălniceanu, he was, together with Nicolae
Vogoride, involved in the unsuccessful attempt to block the unionist
project through the means of an electoral fraud. Asachi was noted for
his deep connections with the Western culture, which led him to
support the employment of foreign experts in various fields and
educational institutions. He cultivated a relationship with the French
historian Edgar Quinet, whose father-in-law he became in 1852.Asachi
was born in Hertsa, a small town which is now part of Ukraine. His
family originated in Austrian-ruled Transylvania, where it was known
under the name Asachievici.[1] His father, Lazăr, was an Orthodox
priest who kept close contacts with Metropolitan Veniamin Costachi;
according to several sources, he was of Armenian descent.[2][3] His
mother Elena (née Niculau or Ardeleanu) was herself the daughter of a
Transylvanian priest. The couple had another son, named Petru. Lazăr
Asachi was his son's first educator, after which the young Gheorghe
most likely enrolled in the Church-run primary school in Herţa.[4]
surname also spelled Asaki; 1 March 1788 â€" 12 November 1869) was a
Moldavian, later Romanian prose writer, poet, painter, historian,
dramatist and translator. An Enlightenment-educated polymath and
polyglot, he was one of the most influential people of his generation.
Asachi was a respected journalist and political figure, as well as
active in technical fields such as civil engineering and pedagogy,
and, for long, the civil servant charged with overseeing all Moldavian
schools. Among his leading achievements were the issuing of Albina
Românească, a highly influential magazine, and the creation of
Academia Mihăileană, which replaced Greek-language education with
teaching in Romanian. His literary works combined a taste for
Classicism with Romantic tenets, while his version of the literary
language relied on archaisms and borrowings from the Moldavian
dialect.A controversial political figure, Asachi endorsed the Imperial
Russian presence in Moldavia and played a major part in establishing
the Regulamentul Organic regime, while supporting the rule of Prince
Mihail Sturdza. He thus came to clash with representatives of the
liberal current, and opposed both the Moldavian revolution of 1848 and
the country's union with Wallachia. Engaged in a long polemic with the
liberal leader Mihail Kogălniceanu, he was, together with Nicolae
Vogoride, involved in the unsuccessful attempt to block the unionist
project through the means of an electoral fraud. Asachi was noted for
his deep connections with the Western culture, which led him to
support the employment of foreign experts in various fields and
educational institutions. He cultivated a relationship with the French
historian Edgar Quinet, whose father-in-law he became in 1852.Asachi
was born in Hertsa, a small town which is now part of Ukraine. His
family originated in Austrian-ruled Transylvania, where it was known
under the name Asachievici.[1] His father, Lazăr, was an Orthodox
priest who kept close contacts with Metropolitan Veniamin Costachi;
according to several sources, he was of Armenian descent.[2][3] His
mother Elena (née Niculau or Ardeleanu) was herself the daughter of a
Transylvanian priest. The couple had another son, named Petru. Lazăr
Asachi was his son's first educator, after which the young Gheorghe
most likely enrolled in the Church-run primary school in Herţa.[4]
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