Vasile Alecsandri (Romanian pronunciation: [vaˈsile aleksanˈdri]; 21 July 1821 – 22 August 1890) was a Romanian patriot, poet, dramatist, politician and diplomat. He was one of the key figures during the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia. He fought for the unification of the Romanian Principalities, writing "Hora Unirii" in 1856 and giving up his candidacy for the title of prince of Moldavia, in favor of Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He became the first minister of foreign affairs of Romania and was one of the founding members of the Romanian Academy. Alecsandri was a prolific writer, contributing to Romanian literature with poetry, prose, several plays, and collections of Romanian folklore, being considered, alongside Mihai Eminescu, which admired and was inspired by the writings of Alecsandri, as one of the most important Romanian writers in the second half of the 19th century.  Read more..

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On July 21, 1821, one of the greatest figures of 19th century Romanian identity and culture, Vasile Alecsandri (1821-1890), was born in Bacău (in Romania today). Vasile Alecsandri was a poet, playwright, theater director, folklorist, diplomat and politician, considered as the creator of Romanian theater and literature but also one of the principal animators of the union of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (forming today a large part of Romania). He was indeed one of the figures of the revolutionary movement of 1848. Alecsandri was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the young Romania and was the author of "Trăiască Regele" ("Long live the King"), the national anthem of monarchical Romania until 1947.... Read more..