Revolutionary Angel Kanchev

Angel Kanchev, born on 11 November 1850 in Tryavna, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and independence activist. Kanchev studied in his native town and in Ruse, then continued his education at Bolhrad Secondary School in Bessarabia and the Military School in Belgrade, Serbia. In 1868 he joined the Second Bulgarian Legion and established contact with the Bulgarian revolutionary emigrant community.

After the legion was disbanded, he moved to Romania and published his appeal to the Bulgarian people in the magazine "Dunavska Zora" (Danubian Dawn), calling on them to struggle against Ottoman rule. In 1870–1871 he studied at the Agricultural and Industrial School in Tábor, Czechia.

After returning to Bulgaria, he began working at the Model Farm near Ruse and became actively involved in the national revolutionary movement.

In 1872, the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee appointed him Vasil Levski's assistant in the Internal Revolutionary Organisation (IRO).

Kanchev conducted extensive organisational and advocacy work in northern Bulgaria. On 5 March 1872 he attempted to cross secretly into Romania, but was betrayed at the port of Ruse and surrounded by Ottoman police. To avoid capture, he took his own life, his final words being: "Long live Bulgaria!".

A monument was erected near the place of his suicide, and Angel Kanchev's home in Tryavna is now a museum preserving the memory of his dedication to Bulgarian independence.