Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, a resounding name of the 1848 generation, was born in Bezded, Sălaj County on September 27, 1827. In 1832, his father, Greek-Catholic priest Ioan Pop Bucur decided to return to the village of Budiul de Campie (today Papiu Ilarian) in the Mureș County, where he had been born. This is where Alexandru attended primary school, after which, in 1838, he signed up for the Catholic Gymnasium of Tîrgu-Mureș which at the time functioned in the building nowadays known as the House on Arches. In 1843 he headed to Blaj where he would study for a year under the supervision of Simion Bărnuțiu. He was forced to move to the Piarist Highschool of Cluj in 1844. Alexandru Papiu Ilarian returned to Tîrgu-Mureș in 1847 as a law graduate and started work as a probationist with the Royal Table. He would soon become, together with Avram Iancu, a leader of the young Romanian lawyers of the “Lecture Society”.  This was a group animated by a strong national conscience, which would get involved in the political life during the tormented times of the 1848 revolution, and fight for the rights of Romanians. Alexandru Papiu Ilarian was one of the organizers of the Revolution of 1848. On April 30, 1848 he was in Blaj at the Grand National Assembly, whereas during July and August he acted as propaganda commissary in the Dâmbovița County.  After the revolution was over, Alexandru Papiu Ilarian continued his law studies at the University of Vienna and then at the University of Padova where he achieved a PhD in 1854. One of his most important works was published during this period: “The History of the Romanians in Superior Dacia” which includes the events of the Revolution of 1848 and in which he makes direct references to the Mureș area. Upon his return, Papiu Ilarian took over the human and criminal law department of the Law University of Iași, which he led between 1855 and 1858. Between 1858 and 1860 he lived in Berlin as private tutor of the sons of boyar Panait Balș. Papiu then held several short-lived positions such as that of legal counselor of Moldavia or member of the Ephors of Schools Association in Bucharest, until he was appointed public prosecutor of the Court of Cassation in Bucharest. The peak of his career was his mandate as minister of justice in the Kogalniceanu government during which he contributed to the important reform of secularization of the assets of monasteries. In 1868 Papiu became a member of the Romanian Academy. As a member of the Academy, he gave a reception speech on September 14, 1869 on the life and ideas of Gheorghe sincai. It was a memorable speech which raised awareness of the scoala Ardeleană (School of Transylvania). One of his most important achievements was the establishment of the “Transylvania Society” in Bucharest, over which he presided between 1867 and 1874. Its main purpose was to give support to the young Romanians of Transylvania whose access to education was limited by the political regime of the Austrian Empire Alexandru Papiu Ilarian passed away in 1877 in Sibiu, and was buried there. Through his activity and publications, Papiu Ilarian left a spiritual heritage that is a point of reference in Romanian culture. Bibliography: C. Albu, Alexandru Papiu Ilarian, București, 1977. Melinte șerban, Cultura mureșeană în memoria cărților, Ed. Ardealul, Tîrgu-Mureș, 2006, pp.102-111.