Revolutionary Dimitar Vekilov

Dimitar Stoev Vekilov was a Bulgarian revolutionary born in the village of Koprivshtitsa. He served in Hristo Botev Voyvoda's detachment and was an important figure in Bulgaria's War of Liberation.

Dimitar was the younger brother of Evlampiya Vekilova, who sewed the main battle flag of the Koprivshtitsa insurgents in 1876. The family name came from their grandfather's position as a vekilin, an authorised representative of the population before the Turkish authorities.

Dimitar's parents cared for him after an incident in which his father was wounded and blinded. His sister Evlampiya helped him settle in Ruse and later in Romania, where he established contact with educational and revolutionary circles.

Dimitar Vekilov served in Hristo Botev's detachment, which crossed the Danube, but after its defeat and the voivode's death, he separated with three other surviving fighters. He was captured and subjected to severe torture but managed to escape and was taken in and nursed back to health by his sister Evlampiya.

After recovering, Dimitar enlisted in the Bulgarian Volunteer Corps and participated in the battles on Shipka Peak during the War of Liberation.

After the war ended, Dimitar Vekilov settled in Peshtera, where he married and had a daughter, whom he named Evlampiya after his sister.