Born in Adrianople, Baronian is widely acknowledged as the greatest Armenian satirist of all time, closely followed by Yervant Odian.

He continued his work in journalism until 1888, when Ottoman authorities decided to ban many magazines in Armenian, including Baronian's.

Baronian's most significant works include the satirical novel Honorable Beggars (1887), the famous literary diary My Ledger (1880), and the comedies Baghdasar Aghbar (1886) and Oriental Dentist (1868).

In these works Baronian aimed to show the defects of Constantinople's society in a satirical way and with an incredible sense of humor.

The Yerevan State Musical Comedy Theatre was named after Hagop Baronian (Armenian: Հակոբ Պարոնյանի անվան Պետական Երաժշտական Կոմեդիայի Թատրոն).