Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria marks 165 years since the birth of prominent linguist Aleksandar Balan

Aleksandar Balan (1859-1959)
Photo: bulgarianhistory.org

October 27 marks the 165th anniversary of the birth of Academician Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan, who was the first theorist of the Bulgarian literary language, phonetics and grammar. 

He was born was born in 1859 in the village of Kubey, Bessarabia. His father, Stoyan Balan, was from a big family in Sliven. His mother Maria Grekova was the daughter of Panayot Grekov, defender of the Bulgarian language in Bessarabia and sister of the Bulgarian politician and lawyer Dimitar Grekov. 

A graduate of the Bolgrad High School, he studied Slavic and Czech philology at the Charles University in Prague. In Leipzig, he studied Greek, Latin and German. In Prague, he defended his doctorate on the topic "On the sound "ь" in the modern Bulgarian language". 

In 1889, Balan was elected the first rector of the Higher School in Sofia - today Sofia University, and from 1945 he was an academician. 

He is the author of over 900 articles, reports, studies and books. 

He died on February 12, 1959 at the age of 99. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

UNESCO delegates to visit Boyana Church

The Boyana Church will be an attractive center for the delegates of the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee , who will gather in Sofia in July this year. The Church of St. Nicholas and St. Panteleimon is one of the..

published on 1/12/25 9:10 AM

The Naval Academy in Varna has marked its 144th anniversary

The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna has marked 144 years since its founding. A period in which the educational institution has followed the trends for highly specialized training of specialists in various professional fields..

published on 1/11/25 7:55 AM

Serenity, light and spirituality: St Petka Monastery in winter

Quiet among the Lyulin Mountain slopes, the Klisura Monastery of St. Petka is marked by mystery and radiates spirituality. It is located only 7 km from the resort town of Bankya, near the village of Klisura. Winter is the time when the holy monastery..

published on 1/8/25 3:48 PM