Revolutionary Todor Zapryanov

Todor Zapryanov Stanchev was born on 25 February 1836 in Kurucheshme village, now Gorski Izvor, in the Haskovo region. He began his education at Haskovo's monitorial school and continued in Plovdiv, studying under Yoakim Gruev. After completing school there, he studied at Moscow University in 1856–1860, where he met revolutionary figures such as Lyuben Karavelov, Nesho Bonchev and Marin Drinov and developed his revolutionary outlook.

In 1860, illness brought him back to Haskovo, where he became head teacher at the Boys' Graded School. He introduced significant changes to teaching, removing Greek from the curriculum and introducing Russian.

In 1864, he emigrated to Romania and became a member of the Secret Central Bulgarian Committee in Bucharest. He worked as a teacher, publicist and editor in Giurgiu. In 1868, he went to Vienna to study photography, and in 1869 he participated in founding the Bulgarian Literary Society in Brăila.

In 1876, he went to Russia to collect money and clothing for Bulgarian volunteers in the Serbo-Bulgarian War. He joined the Russian Ninth Corps as an interpreter and took part in the war, including the crossing of the Danube and the capture of Nikopol. After the Liberation, he chaired the administrative council in Haskovo.

Todor Zapryanov Stanchev died in Haskovo on 29 March 1879 after developing a severe form of tuberculosis.