A Life in The Museum: An Homage to Dr. Dumitru Murariu at 80 Years

Dr. Dumitru Murariu was born on September 21, 1940 in Ungureni, Botoşani County, as the first child in a peasant family. He attended primary and secondary school in his home village. Since the beginning he proved himself to be one of the brightest students in the class and, as a consequence, the school teachers advised his parents to have him continue his education. At the end of secondary school, the young Dumitru Murariu enrolled at the “August Treboniu Laurian” theoretical 280 Popa & Popa high school in the city of Botoşani. During these years (1955–1957), the teacher of “the Fundamentals of Darwinism” made a strong impression on the future scientist, with practical lessons, in a small garden, on the correlation between the natural selection and the variability of organisms. On the way from the main building to the above‑mentioned garden, the professor taught his pupils how to identify the trees on the sidewalks and from the “Public Garden”. This teacher’s name was Remus Cehovschi - former Assistant Professor at the University of Chernivtsi (Cernăuți – North Bukovina), from where he took refuge to Botoșani in 1944.After graduating high school, Dumitru Murariu returned to his home village, where he occupied a position of unqualified teacher in the village school. In the fall of 1958, he was drafted for the mandatory military service until mid-January 1961. Returning home, he resumed his school position but in the autumn of the same year, he successfully passed the admission exams at the Faculty of Biology-Geography, the Department of Biology-Zoology at the “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iași. Based on his academic excellence he received a scholarship until graduating in 1966.