Eftimie Murgu (28 December 1805 – 12 May 1870) was a

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

n philosopher and politician who took part in the

1848 Revolutions The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

Biography

He was born in Rudăria (today Eftimie Murgu,

Caraș-Severin County Caraș-Severin () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița ...

) to Samu Murgu, an officer in the Imperial Army and Cumbria Murgu (née Pungilă). He studied in Old Church Slavonic at the school of his village, continuing in

Caransebeș Caransebeș (; german: Karansebesch; hu, Karánsebes, Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a city in Caraș-Severin County, part of the Banat region in southwestern Romania. It is located at the confluence of the River Timiș with the River Sebeș, th ...

and then he studied Philosophy at the

University of Szeged , mottoeng = Truth. Bravery. Freedom. , established = , type = Public research university , founder = Emperor Franz Joseph I , affiliation = European University Association, Science Without Borders, Confucius Institute , budget = US$220 m ...

, graduating in 1826. In 1830, he graduated from the

University of Pest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and in 1834, he obtained a PhD in

Universal Law In law and ethics, universal law or universal principle refers as concepts of legal legitimacy actions, whereby those principles and rules for governing human beings' conduct which are most universal in their acceptability, their applicability, ...

, from the same university. While in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Murgu befriended several young

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

Megleno-Romanians The Megleno-Romanians, also known as Meglenites ( ruq, Miglinits), Moglenite Vlachs or simply Vlachs ( ruq, Vlaș), are a small Eastern Romance people, originally inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis re ...

, and

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

ns who were studying there, including

Andrei Șaguna Andrei Șaguna (; 20 January 1808, Miskolc, Hungary – 28 June 1873, Nagyszeben, Hungary) was a Metropolitan bishop of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Transylvania, and one of the Romanian community political leaders in the Habsburg monarchy, ...

and

Damaschin Bojincă Damaschin Bojincă (1802–1869) was an Imperial Austrian-born Moldavian writer and jurist. Born into an ethnic Romanian family in Gârliște, Caraș-Severin County, he attended primary school in Oravița and Vršac (''Vârșeț''), finishing h ...

. He joined a dispute with

Sava Tekelija Sava Tekelija ( sr, Сава Текелија) (1761–1842) was the first Serbian doctor of law, the founder of the Tekelijanum, president of the Matica srpska, philanthropist, noble, and merchant.

on the

Origin of the Romanians Several theories address the issue of the origin of the Romanians. The Romanian language descends from the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken in the Roman provinces north of the "Jireček Line" (a proposed notional line separating the predominantly ...

, publishing in Buda, in 1830, a work named ''Widerlegung'' ("The Rebuttal"). In 1834, he moved to Iași, in

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...

, where he opened the first philosophy course at the

Academia Mihăileană Academia Mihăileană was an institution of higher learning based in Iași, Moldavia, and active in the first part of the 19th century. Like other Eastern European institutions of its kind, it was both a high school and a higher learning institute ...

. In 1837, he moved to

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...

after a conflict with Prince

Mihail Sturdza Mihail Sturdza (24 April 1794, Iași – 8 May 1884, Paris), sometimes anglicized as Michael Stourdza, was prince of Moldavia from 1834 to 1849. He was cousin of Roxandra Sturdza and Alexandru Sturdza. Biography He was son of Grigore Sturdza, s ...

. In

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, he was named professor of logic and Roman Law at

Saint Sava College Saint Sava College was one of the earliest academic institutions in Wallachia, Romania. It was the predecessor to both Saint Sava National College and the University of Bucharest. History It was the continuator of the Princely Academy from Buchare ...

. He was a member of the Wallachian revolutionary movement, but the plot was revealed and he was arrested and expelled. In the

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

, he militated for national and social reforms, suggesting even a union with Wallachia, but he was arrested in March 1845, being freed only 3 years later, on 9 April 1848. Murgu was elected a deputy to the

Hungarian Parliament The National Assembly ( hu, Országgyűlés, lit=Country Assembly) is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 199 (386 between 1990 and 2014) members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is done using a semi-propo ...

and tried to establish a Romanian army in the Banat. He participated to the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire, and was arrested in September 1849 and in October 1851. He was sentenced to death, but his sentence was reduced to four years in prison and two years later, in 1853, he was freed. Eftimie Murgu 133450

Iancu-Bariţiu-Bălcescu-Petőfi-Murgu-Bărnuţiu

He died in Buda, where he was buried in the

Kerepesi Cemetery Kerepesi Cemetery (Hungarian: ''Kerepesi úti temető'' or ''Kerepesi temető'', official name: ''Fiumei úti nemzeti sírkert'', i.e. "Fiume Road National Graveyard") is the most famous cemetery in Budapest. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in ...

, his grave being moved in 1932 to the chapel of the

Lugoj Lugoj (; hu, Lugos; german: Lugosch; sr, Лугош, Lugoš; bg, Лугож; tr, Logoş) is a city in Timiș County, Romania. The Timiș River divides the city into two halves, the so-called "Romanian Lugoj" that spreads on the right bank and t ...

Cemetery.

Legacy

In 1948,

Poșta Română CN Poșta Română SA is the national operator in the field of postal services in Romania. It is the sole supplier of universal service in any point on the Romanian territory. Poșta Română is active on the free market of value added postal ...

issued a 10 lei stamp depicting Murgu together with fellow 1848 revolutionaries,

Nicolae Bălcescu Nicolae Bălcescu () (29 June 181929 November 1852) was a Romanian Wallachian soldier, historian, journalist, and leader of the 1848 Wallachian Revolution. Early life Born in Bucharest to a family of low-ranking nobility, he used his mother' ...

George Bariț George Bariț (often rendered as George Barițiu, hu, Báricz György; 4 June 1812 – 2 May 1893), was an ethnic Romanian Austro-Hungarian historian, philologist, playwright, politician, businessman and journalist, the founder of the Romanian ...

Simion Bărnuțiu Simion Bărnuțiu (; 21 July 1808 – 28 May 1864) was a Transylvanian, later Romanian historian, academic, philosopher, jurist, and liberal politician. A leader of the 1848 revolutionary movement of Transylvanian Romanians, he represented its ...

, Avram Iancu, and

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; sk, Alexander Petrovič; sr, Александар Петровић; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet of Serbian origin and liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary' ...

. The city of

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

has a square in front of the medical faculty of the University named after Murgu. In the square there is a monument in his honor, created by the Romanian sculptor (1919–1992). High schools in

Bozovici Bozovici ( hu, Bozovics; german: Bosowitsch; cs, Božoviče) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, western Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borde ...

, Lugoj, and Timișoara bear his name. was founded in

Reșița Reșița (; german: link=no, Reschitz; hu, Resicabánya; hr, Ričica; cz, Rešice; sr, Решица/Rešica; tr, Reşçe) is a city in western Romania and the capital of Caraș-Severin County. It is located in the Banat region. The city had ...

in 1992. There are streets named after Murgu in Arad,

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

, Brăila, Cluj-Napoca, Lugoj, Oradea, Reșița,

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

, and Timișoara.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murgu, Eftimie 1805 births 1870 deaths People from Caraș-Severin County Romanian Austro-Hungarians University of Szeged alumni Eötvös Loránd University alumni Romanian revolutionaries People of the Revolutions of 1848 Romanian philosophers Romanian schoolteachers Members of the House of Representatives (Hungary)