Antoni Rovira i Virgili facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antoni Rovira i Virgili
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| 4th President of the Catalan Parliament In the exile |
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| In office October 15, 1940 – December 5, 1949 |
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| Preceded by | Josep Irla |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Serra i Moret |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 November 1882 Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) |
| Died | 5 December 1949 (aged 67) Perpignan, France |
| Political party | Federal Nationalist Republican Union (1910–1913) Catalan Action (1922–1930) Republican Action of Catalonia (1930–1932) ERC (1932–1949) |
Antoni Rovira i Virgili (born November 26, 1882 – died December 5, 1949) was an important Spanish politician and journalist. He became the president of Catalonia's Parliament. This happened while the government was in exile after the Spanish Civil War. He served from 1940 until his death in 1949.
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Who Was Antoni Rovira i Virgili?
Antoni Rovira i Virgili was born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. He was a strong believer in democracy and the Catalan identity. His work as a journalist helped share his ideas with many people. He played a key role in Catalan politics during a difficult time.
A University in His Name
To honor Antoni Rovira i Virgili, a university in Catalonia is named after him. It is called the Rovira i Virgili University. Its main campus is in Tarragona. There are also centers in Reus, Vila-seca, Tortosa, and el Vendrell. This shows how important he was to the region.
His Love for the Catalan Language
Antoni Rovira i Virgili cared deeply about the Catalan language. He once said:
For us Catalans, our language is our spirit's blood. Out of all our worldly heritage, we love no other treasure more deeply than our language.
This quote shows how much he valued his native language. He believed it was a vital part of Catalan culture and identity.
Working with Pompeu Fabra
Because of his strong interest in language, Rovira i Virgili admired Pompeu Fabra. Fabra was a famous Catalan linguist. Rovira i Virgili wrote many articles about Fabra and his work. He was especially impressed by Fabra's bright eyes.
Rovira i Virgili fully supported Fabra's new ideas for Catalan grammar and spelling. He did this even before these ideas were officially accepted. His support was very important. He was a well-known journalist, so his actions encouraged others. Many writers and thinkers quickly adopted Fabra's new rules. This helped to modernize the Catalan language. It also led to the language being recognized more widely.
Rovira i Virgili first met Pompeu Fabra around 1911. At that time, Rovira i Virgili was writing for a newspaper called El Poble Català. He already believed in Fabra's ideas. However, Fabra had not yet become the main expert for modern Catalan. People at that time thought it would be easy to set official rules for the language. This was because the Institut d'Estudis Catalans had just been created in 1907. But there were different ideas among experts about how to do this.
Books for Everyone
In 2012, a publisher called "Publicacions URV" translated one of his books. This book was called "In Defense of Democracy." It was published by the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona.
See Also
In Spanish: Antoni Rovira i Virgili para niños
