Revolutionary Mihail Chakov

Mihail Chakov, known as Andzheliyata, was a Bulgarian soldier and revolutionary born on 16 March 1873 in the small town of Goumenissa, now in Greece. He completed the sixth grade at the Bulgarian Secondary School in Thessaloniki and became a teacher in Tumba. In 1897, he joined the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation (IMARO), serving in detachments under various voivodes before becoming an independent voivode himself.

Chakov actively participated in various military and revolutionary activities. He led a detachment in the Poroy region and fought Turkish troops during the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903. After the uprising was suppressed, he continued his struggle as a voivode in various regions, including Pirin, Serres and Veles.

In 1912, Chakov participated in the First Balkan War as voivode of Detachment No. 11 of the Macedonian-Adrianople Volunteer Corps, playing an active role in liberating various towns. During the First World War, he served as a senior non-commissioned officer and continued his revolutionary activities after the war.

Chakov died on 17 September 1938 and was buried in Sofia. He is remembered as a prominent participant in the struggle to liberate the Macedonian Bulgarians and achieve national unification.