Dragoș Protopopescu

Dragoș Protopopescu (17 October 1892 – 11 April 1948) was a Romanian writer, poet, critic and philosopher.

He was born in Călărași, the son of Constantin Popescu and Octavia Blebea. After going to school in his native city, he pursued his studies at the Saint Sava High School in Bucharest, and then at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest. He continued his education at the University of Paris, where he obtained in 1924 a PhD in English studies, with a thesis about William Congreve[1] written under the direction of Louis Cazamian.

In 1925 Protopopescu was named professor at the University of Cernăuți. From 1926 to 1927 he was the director of the National Theater in Cernăuți, where he hired Grigore Vasiliu Birlic in his first role. After serving as press attaché at the Romanian Legation in London (1928–1930),[2] he became professor at the University of Bucharest, and served for a while as dean of the School of English Language and Literature in the Department of Letters at the university.[3]

Politically, Protopopescu supported the fascist and antisemitic organization known as the Iron Guard, and he published the newspaper Buna Vestire, which was aligned with the Guard. He also actively contributed to other Romanian newspapers such as Flacăra, Vieața Nouă, Cuget Românesc, Cuvântul, Gândirea, Lumea Nouă, Cuvântul Studențesc, Vremea and Porunca Vremii. He was arrested and imprisoned in spring 1934 and detained at Jilava Prison during the crackdown on the Iron Guard by King Carol II's dictatorship. In 1937 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies on the list of the "Totul pentru Țară" party.

In 1948 Protopopescu was arrested again by the communist authorities. He tried to commit suicide by cutting his veins. He was sent to a hospital in Bucharest and then arrested again by the Securitate. He made a new and successful attempt at suicide: leaning over an elevator shaft, he was decapitated by the cabin.