Revolutionary Stefan Nikolov

Stefan Nikolov Nikolov, known by the pseudonyms Ignatius Loyola, Skender Beg and Tepayvoltsi, was a Bulgarian officer, colonel and revolutionary, and an active member of the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee. He was born in the Bulgarian town of Prilep, now in North Macedonia, on 9 or 30 September 1859 or 1860. In 1880 he graduated from the Military School in Sofia.

Nikolov fought in the Serbo-Bulgarian War as a battalion commander in the 3rd Bdin Infantry Regiment but was left disabled after the war. This saddened him and gave rise to his nickname Ignatius Loyola. He subsequently served in various infantry regiments and joined the secret officers' brotherhoods working for the liberation of Macedonia and Adrianople Thrace. In 1900 he left the army and joined the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee.

In 1902, before the Gorna Dzhumaya Uprising, Nikolov applied for transfer to the reserve but participated in the uprising as chief of the insurgent staff. After the uprising broke out, the Bulgarian government interned him together with other committee leaders. During the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, Nikolov commanded the committee's detachment and fought in the Struma River valley. In 1905 he again participated in the struggles in Macedonia.

During the Balkan War, Nikolov commanded the First Brigade of the Macedonian-Adrianople Volunteer Corps and fought at Malgara and Şarköy. In the subsequent fighting during the Second Balkan War, he served in the Combined Partisan Company, fighting at Kratovo, in the Osogovo Mountains and at Povien. For his service he received the Officer's Order for Bravery, Third Class. Nikolov died on 12 April 1915 and was described as a "great Bulgarian and knight of the spirit", among the most prominent leaders of the Macedonian revolutionary struggle.