Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, a name chosen in 1857 by Tadeu Hasdeu (February 26, 1838—August 25, 1907), was a Romanian writer and philologist, who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Hasdeu is considered to have been able to understand 26 languages (many of which he could also converse in).

He was born in Cristinestii Hotinului (now Kerstenzy, where is near Khotyn), northern Bessarabia, at the time part of Imperial Russia, into a family with noted Polish connections. After studying law at the University of Kharkiv, he fought as a Russian hussar in the Crimean War. In 1858 he settled in Iasi as a high school teacher and librarian. In 1865, Hasdeu published a monograph on Ioan Voda the Terrible, renaming him for the first time cel Viteaz—"the Brave". The portrayal of this violent, short rule as a glorious moment (and of Ioan himself as a reformer) drew criticism from the Junimea society, a conflict which was to follow Hasdeu for the rest of his life. Still, Hasdeu's version of Ioan's character and his anti-boyar actions were to be reclaimed as a founding myth by Communist Romania.

In 1863, Hasdeu again moved his residence, from Iasi to Bucharest; he began editing the satirical magazine Aghiuta, which ceased publication the following year.

(sura:www.wikipedia.org)