Shishmanov, Ivan

Shishmanov, Ivan [Шишманов, Иван; Šišmanov], b 4 July 1862 in Svishtov, Bulgaria, d 22 July 1928 in Oslo, Norway. Bulgarian literary scholar, folklorist, and civic figure; full member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Shevchenko Scientific Society; father of Dimitar Shishmanov. After studying at Jena University, Geneva University, and Leipzig University he was a professor at Sofia University (from 1894). Through his father-in-law, Mykhailo Drahomanov, and his wife’s cousin, Lesia Ukrainka, he developed friendships with other Ukrainian writers (Ivan Franko) and scholars (Volodymyr Hnatiuk). He later became Bulgaria’s minister of education (1903–7) and Bulgarian emissary to the Central Rada in Kyiv (1918–19). In 1920 he initiated the creation of the Bulgarian-Ukrainian Society. Among his many works are articles on Ukrainian literature (particularly on Taras Shevchenko) and its influence on the Bulgarian revival. His collected works were published in two volumes (1965–6).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]