Revolutionary Luka Dzherov

Luka Grigorov Dzherov, also called Dzherev, was a Bulgarian revolutionary and active participant in the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO).

He was born on 14 (27) October 1869 in Bitola, then part of the Ottoman Empire. Luka Dzherov came from the renowned National Revival Dzherov family, was a cousin of Spiro Dzherov and a grandson of Spiridon Dzherov. From 1888 to 1890 he attended the French Lazarist school in Bitola, then continued his education at the Bulgarian Boys' Secondary School in Thessaloniki.

In 1892, Luka Dzherov assisted Dame Gruev and established a revolutionary group called the "Teachers' Union". He joined the Young Macedonian Literary Society in Sofia and helped publish the journal "Loza" (Vine) and the newspaper "Glas Makedonski" (Macedonian Voice). He participated in the Macedonian Committee's armed-detachment campaign of 1895 with Stefan Popov's detachment.

In the following years, Luka Dzherov was active in education, teaching in various settlements and schools in Macedonia, spreading revolutionary ideas and organising village schools. In 1899 he was arrested and imprisoned, but after his release in 1901 he became a member of the Bitola District Revolutionary Committee.

During the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903, Luka Dzherov led the Kičevo Revolutionary Region and participated in battles at Kičevo, Izvor, Dušegubica, Lavčani and Lopušnik. After the uprising was suppressed, he returned to Bulgaria and became associated with Sandanski's supporters.

In 1907, Luka Dzherov led a detachment in the Bitola region, and after the Second Balkan War he settled in Sofia. He continued to participate actively in the work of the Provisional Representation of the Former IMARO.

Luka Dzherov thus remains an important figure in the history of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement.