**Elias Canetti** (1905 – 14 August 1994; was a [German-language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German-language) writer, born in [Ruse, Bulgaria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruse,_Bulgaria) to a [Sephardic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardi_Jews) Jewish family.He won the [Nobel Prize in Literature](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature) in [1981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_Nobel_Prize_in_Literature), "for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power".[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Canetti#cite_note-4) He is noted for his nonfiction book *[Crowds and Power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowds_and_Power)*, among other works.Born in 1905 to businessman Jacques Canetti and Mathilde *née* Arditti in [Ruse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruse,_Bulgaria), a city on the [Danube](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube) in [Bulgaria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria),, Canetti was the eldest of three sons.[]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Canetti#cite_note-litenc-6) His ancestors were [Sephardic Jews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephardic_Jews). His paternal ancestors settled in Ruse from [Ottoman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire) [Adrianople](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edirne). The original family name was *Cañete*, named after [Cañete, Cuenca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca%C3%B1ete,_Cuenca), a village in [Spain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain).In Ruse, Canetti's father and grandfather were successful merchants who operated out of a commercial building, which they had built in 1898.[[8]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elias_Canetti#cite_note-gesellschaft-8) Canetti's mother descended from the Arditti family, one of the oldest Sephardic families in Bulgaria, who were among the founders of the Ruse Jewish colony in the late 18th century. The Ardittis can be traced to the 14th century when they were court physicians and astronomers to the [Aragonese](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aragon) royal court of [Alfonso IV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfonso_IV_of_Aragon) and [Pedro IV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_IV_of_Aragon). Before settling in Ruse, they had migrated to Italy and lived in [Livorno](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livorno) in the 17th century.