Traian Bratu

Traian Bratu (October 25, 1875–July 21, 1940) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian scholar of German language and literature. A native of the Mărginimea Sibiului region in Transylvania, he left for the Romanian Old Kingdom, where he attended university, followed up by a doctorate at the University of Berlin. In 1907, he became a professor at the University of Iași, where he taught until his death; over time, his research interests gradually shifted from literature to linguistics. Meanwhile, he fought in World War I and twice led his university in the postwar period: in the early 1920s and during the 1930s. A left-leaning member of the National Peasants' Party, he was president of the Romanian Senate from 1928 to 1931. He actively opposed the far right, clashing with the followers of A. C. Cuza and with the Iron Guard; the latter organization made two unsuccessful attempts on his life.

Born in Rășinari, Sibiu County, in the Mărginimea Sibiului area of Transylvania, at the time part of Austria-Hungary, he grew up in a peasant family. He attended primary school in his native village, followed by the Hungarian-language state high school in Sibiu. Right after finishing high school in 1894, he left for the Romanian Old Kingdom, without emigration papers. There, he studied literature at the University of Bucharest and graduated in 1898. He then taught German at a gymnasium and a seminary in Râmnicu Vâlcea between 1900 and 1902, after which he moved to the National College in Iași. There, his subjects were German and Latin, and he remained on the faculty until 1916.

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