Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov (Bulgarian: Никола Йонков Вапцаров; 7 December 1909 – 23 July 1942) was a Bulgarian[1] poet, communist and revolutionary.[2][3][4] Working most of his life as a machinist, he only wrote in his spare time. Despite the fact that he only ever published one poetry book, he is considered one of the most important Bulgarian poets. Because of his underground communist activity against the government of Boris III and the German troops in Bulgaria, Vaptsarov was arrested, tried, sentenced and executed the same night by a firing squad.