Marcian Bleahu facts for kids
Marcian David (Matty) Bleahu (born March 14, 1924, in Brașov – died July 30, 2019, in Bucharest) was an amazing Romanian scientist and explorer. He was a Romanian geologist, someone who studies the Earth's rocks and history. He was also a speleologist, which means he explored and studied caves. Besides that, he was a geographer, alpinist (mountain climber), explorer, writer, and even a politician!
Marcian Bleahu was famous for his important work on how the Earth's plates move (called global tectonics), especially when studying the Carpathian Mountains. He was also a pioneer in cave science (speleology) and helped make it popular in Romania. He loved sharing science and teaching people about protecting our environment.
He wrote over 41 books and 126 scientific papers, plus more than 400 articles on many different topics. He gave over 500 public talks, including on radio and TV. He was one of the first to use multimedia (like slides and videos) in his presentations. He even created the first geological map of Romania! Marcian Bleahu was one of the most important Romanian scientists of the last century. His books and talks inspired many young people who loved nature, mountains, and exploring caves in Romania. He was also a mentor for many geologists after World War II.
A Look at His Life
Marcian David Bleahu was born on March 14, 1924, in Brașov. His family had a long history, even connected to an old prince named Constantin Brâncoveanu. He went to elementary school and the Ioan Meșotă High School in Brașov. He served in the army during World War II.
In 1949, he finished his studies at the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Bucharest, focusing on Natural Sciences and Geography. Later, in 1974, he earned his PhD (a high-level degree) from the University of Cluj. His PhD was about the geology and shapes of karst areas and caves. Karst is a type of landscape formed by dissolving rocks like limestone, often with caves.
He started teaching at the Geology Department of Bucharest University in 1949. He worked there as a teaching assistant, lecturer, and associate professor until 1961. Sadly, he was removed from teaching for political reasons during that time. After 1989, when things changed in Romania, he returned to university life. He helped start the Ecological University with Professor Dolfi Drimer. He became the Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (which later became the Faculty of Ecology) there. From 1949 to 1994, he also worked as a geologist and researcher at the Geological Institute of Romania, even becoming its General Manager.
Marcian Bleahu was elected to the Senate of Romania (like a parliament) twice, from 1990 to 1992 and again from 1996 to 2000. He represented environmental parties. From 1991 to 1992, he was the Minister of the Environment, working to protect nature in Romania.
He received several important awards. In 2008, he was given the "The Star of Romania" as a Knight, which is the highest award a civilian can get in Romania. Even after he retired, he kept writing articles and books, including about music (he loved classical music) and ecology.
His Amazing Career
After graduating in 1949, Marcian Bleahu joined the Geology Department at the University of Bucharest. He taught courses on how the Earth's structure is formed and the geology of the Quaternary period (the most recent period in Earth's history). In 1961, the communist government removed him from his teaching job for political reasons.
On April 4, 1990, Marcian Bleahu, along with Dolphi Drimer, founded the Ecological University. This was the first private university in Romania and the only one focused on ecology. Drimer became the head of the university, and Bleahu became the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (later called the Faculty of Ecology). There, he taught about Dynamic Geology, Romania's Physical Geography, Romania's Geology, and how to protect nature and special areas. He stopped teaching in 2001. While teaching, from 1949 to 1994, Bleahu also worked as a geologist at the Geological Institute, where he did most of his scientific research.
Between 1952 and 1985, he spent 33 years doing a lot of research in the Carpathian Mountains, especially in the Apuseni Mountains. During this time, he gathered and shared important information about the layers of rocks and the structure of the Apuseni Mountains. His published works were the first scientific sources about the geology of the Maramureș, Bihor, Codru-Moma, and Metaliferic Mountains. He wrote a special book about each of these areas. His research was very important for understanding things like coal deposits and the overall structure of Romania's land. He also helped create over 50 sections of the Geological Map of Romania, which is a very detailed map showing different rock types and features.
A very special part of his work was studying karstology, which is the science of caves. He explored, mapped, and researched many caves in the Apuseni Mountains that were almost unknown before him. Some of these famous caves include: Peștera de la Căput, Peștera Buciumul Sucit, Peștera Vântului, Peștera Vadu Crișului, Peștera Șura Mare, Peștera din Peretele Dârnini, Peștera Coliboaia, Avenul de sub Pietruța, Peștera Izvorul Tăușoarelor, Peștera-aven ghețarul de sub Zgurăști, Peștera Cetatea Rădesei, Peștera Pojarul Poliței, Scărișoara Cave, Peștera Huda lui Papară, Vânătările Ponorului, Izbucul de la Cotețul Dobreștilor, Avenul de sub Colții Grindului, Peștera Gaura cu Muscă, Peștera Bolii, Peștera Neagră, Peștera Ghețarul de la Vârtop, Avenul din Piatra Ceții, Peștera Calului, Peștera Bisericuța, Peștera din Dealul Cornului, Peștera Mică de la Vânătare, Peștera Dâlbina, Peștera Corobana lui Gârtău, Peștera V5, Peștera Poarta lui Ionele, Avenul din Șesuri.
In 1976, he published a book called Caves from Romania ("Peșteri din România"), which became one of the first popular science books in Romania.
All his research, along with new ideas about plate tectonics (how Earth's large plates move and cause earthquakes and mountains) in the 1960s, made Marcian Bleahu a leader in the field of global tectonics. He made important contributions not only in Romania but also to the international scientific community. He put all his findings into a two-volume book called Global Tectonics (Tectonica globală), published in 1983, which had over 1000 pages.
Even though some scientists at the time disagreed with his ideas, and the communist government even stopped him from leaving the country for six years (1978-1984), Bleahu managed to share his theories. He was invited to teach the first course in Global Tectonics at the University of Geneva in 1974, 1976, and 1978. He also gave talks in cities like Vienna, Zurich, and Potsdam.
From 1949 to 1952, he managed the geology work for the Danube–Black Sea Canal. In 1953, he led the geological research for the Bucharest Metro project. He was also part of the team that analyzed the big 1977 Vrancea earthquake. From 1985 to 1994, he helped create and coordinate the National Museum of Geology in Bucharest.
His Political Work
While he was a student, Marcian Bleahu liked the National Liberal Party. However, he didn't join any political party until 1965, when he joined the Romanian Communist Party to get a management job at the Geological Institute. His political activity before 1990 was not very significant. But professionally, he will always be remembered for founding the National Museum of Geology in 1985, where he also worked as a scientific coordinator until 1994.
After the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, Marcian Bleahu founded the Ecologist Movement in Romania. This allowed him to put his strong beliefs about protecting nature and the environment into action. He was elected as a senator in May 1990, in the first free Parliament after communism. He then became the Minister of Environment in the Stolojan government. In this role, he created new laws for environmental protection (which was a new thing for Romania) and worked to connect Romania with international agreements and programs about the environment. In 1992, he was made vice-president of the UN Conference for environment and development in Rio de Janeiro. In 1996, he was elected as a senator again. He was a member of the Commission for Foreign Affairs and the parliamentary group of the National Liberal Party. In 2008, he was appointed as Honorary President of the Green Party, which continued the work of the Ecologist Federation of Romania.
Awards and Honors
- The Medal "Scientific Merit", 1966
- The decoration "Order of Labour" cl. III, 1971
- The medal for being a fighter in the Second World War, 1997
- The decoration "Order of the Star of Romania", Knight rank, 2009
- The medal for merit "Percy Allen" from the European Union of Geology Societies, 2012
- The prize of the Romanian Academy - "Emil Gh. Racoviță", 1965
- The prize of the Romanian Academy - "Grigore Cobălcescu", 1974
- The prize of the Romanian Academy - "G.M. Murgoci", 1976
- Honorary Citizen of Gârda and Albac, 2006 and 2010
- Professor Honoris Causa (Honorary Professor) of Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj, 2009
