Ion Luca Caragiale (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon ˈluka karaˈd͡ʒjale]; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; February 13 [O.S. February 1] 1852 – July 9, 1912) was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist. Leaving behind an important cultural legacy, he is considered one of the greatest playwrights in Romanian language and literature, as well as one of its most important writers and a leading representative of local humor. Alongside Mihai Eminescu, Ioan Slavici and Ion Creangă, he is seen as one of the main representatives of Junimea, an influential literary society with which he nonetheless parted during the second half of his life.