Dr. Agnes Murgoci (1875 – 7 May 1929), was an Australian born, English zoologist and folklorist. Agnes Kelly (later Murgoci) was born in

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

in 1875, the daughter of Adam Kelly, formerly of Glasgow, and Helen Beveridge. Her parents returned to England with Agnes, when she was three years old. Kelly attended school at

Dollar Academy Dollar Academy, founded in 1818 by John McNabb, is an independent co-educational day and boarding school in Scotland. The open campus occupies a site in the centre of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, at the foot of the Ochil Hills. Overview As of 20 ...

and entered Bedford College in 1892. She graduated in 1896, obtaining her B.Sc. with first class honours in zoology. She moved to Germany to undertake a PhD from the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...

. She graduated alongside

Maria Gordon Dame Maria Matilda Gordon (née Ogilvie; 30 April 1864 – 24 June 1939), sometimes known as May Ogilvie Gordon or May Gordon, was an eminent Scottish geologist, palaeontologist, and politician. She was the first woman to be awarded a Doctor ...

, as the first women to earn PhD's from the University of Munich in 1900. Kelly met

Gheorghe Munteanu-Murgoci Gheorghe Munteanu Murgoci (July 20, 1872 – March 5, 1925) was a renowned Romanian geologist, founder of the South-Eastern European Studies Institute in Bucharest. In 1923, he was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy. Munte ...

, a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n professor of mineralogy during her time in Munich. They married in 1904 and moved to Bucharest. Their children, Helen and Radu were born in Romania. Agnes Murgoci published articles on the folklore of her new home, especially early studies on

vampirism A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

, and a book, ''Rumania and the Rumanians''. Her works appeared in the journal of the

Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...

.AIM25 : Archives in London and the M25 are
MURGOCI, Dr Agnes (1875–1929)
Centre for Romanian Studie
Vampirism of New and Old Ottomans
Her husband died in 1925. During World War I, Agnes Murgoci and her children fled to England and settled in Bristol. Murgoci died in England on 7 May 1929, following a car accident on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. She was survived by her children.

Legacy

Murgoci collected a large number of traditional Romanian peasant costumes and rugs. These were donated to the Scottish National Museum by her daughter, as the Murgoci collection. Her papers are held in the Royal Holloway, University of London archives.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murgoci, Agnes 1875 births 1929 deaths People educated at Dollar Academy English folklorists British women folklorists Australian folklorists Australian women folklorists Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom