Ivan Vazov Street in the central part of Sofia was named after the "patriarch of Bulgarian literature." Vazov was the first writer, poet and playwright who was recognized as a classic of the new Bulgarian literature.

He was born on July 9, 1850 in the small town of Sopot, situated in the popular Rose Valley in central Bulgaria. He was the son of merchant Mincho Vazov and Suba Vazova who was known as one of the most educated women in town.

After finishing primary school in Sopot in 1865, Vazov was sent by his father to the nearby town of Kalofer to be an assistant teacher. At the same time, he was continuing his education with one of the most popular teachers in Bulgaria at the time, Botyo Petkov, who was also the father of another great Bulgarian poet, Hristo Botev. At the Kalofer school, Vazov became acquainted with the Russian language and Russian classic literature.

After years of study and exams in Kalofer, the young teacher returned to his hometown and helped in his father's grocery shop. In 1866, he went to Plovdiv to study at the Central Bulgarian School. In Plovdiv, Vazov learnt French and started reading original French literature. There he also wrote his first poems.

His father, however, had different plans for his son's future and in 1870 sent him to Oltinitsa, Romania, to study trade. Vazov did not show a keen interest in the subject and left the school to start a tour of Romania, meeting Bulgarian immigrant revolutionaries who went to Romania to organize the fight of the Bulgarian people against Ottoman rule. Travelling from Braila to Galatsi, Vazov also wrote and published patriotic poems in Bulgarian revolutionary newspapers.

Upon his return to Bulgaria in 1872, Vazov became a teacher and educated his students in patriotic ideas. In 1875, he met Todor Kableshkov who was a member of the revolutionary committee organizing the 1876 April Uprising. Influenced by the preparation of the uprising, Vazov's poems became revolutionary in theme.

After Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule, Vazov moved to Plovdiv where he was an editor of the Naroden Glas (National Voice) newspaper, Nauka (Science) magazine and Zora (Dawn) magazine. With his publications, he took an active part in the struggle for the unification of Knyazhestvo Bulgaria (Principality of Bulgaria - today's northern Bulgaria) and Iztochna Rumelia (Eastern Rumelia - today's southern Bulgaria), which were separated by the 1878 Berlin Treaty.

During this period - 1880-86 - Vazov wrote some of his most popular poems, short stories and novels dedicated to the struggle of the Bulgarian people for freedom from the Turkish rulers.

In 1886, the writer went to Russia because of the persecutions of supporters of Russia at the time when Stefan Stambolov was prime minister of the country. He settled in Odessa where he spent three years and wrote one of his most popular novels, Pod Igoto (Under the Yoke) which retold the difficult life of Bulgarian people during the Ottoman rule and their fight against their oppressors.

After the fall of the Stambolov government, Vazov came back to Bulgaria and was elected Member of Parliament. He was also a member of an official Bulgarian delegation sent to Russia in order to improve the diplomatic relations between the two countries. In 1897, he was appointed Minister of Education and stayed at this post for two years. This was one of the most unprolific periods in his biography. After his ministerial mandate, however, Vazov took a long trip in the Stara Planina mountain range and this inspired him to write a new book of poetry.

Vazov spent the last three years of his life devoted mainly to literary work. He created his master works in his house in Sofia which was always open for literary meetings and discussions. On September 22, 1921, Vazov had a heart attack while having lunch. The black memorial ribbon can still be seen on the chair where he died in his house at 12 Ivan Vazov Street in Sofia. The house was turned into a museum five years after his death.