ℬ Vasiliy Fedorov ℬ Famous people of Ukraine and the world

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Vasiliy Fedorov

Year of birth: 1802
Age: 53 years old
Place of birth: St. Petersburg, Russia
Date of death: 24.03.1855
Year of death: 1855
Citizenship: Russia

Biography

Fyodorov (Vasily Fedorovich, 1802 – 1855) was a Russian astronomer, a pupil of a St. Petersburg orphanage, from which, after completing a secondary school course, he entered the mathematics department of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Derpent in 1823.

Fyodorov (Vasily Fedorovich, 1802-1855) was a Russian astronomer, a pupil of a St. Petersburg orphanage, from which, after completing a secondary school course, he entered the University of Derpth in 1823 as a student of the mathematics department of the philosophy faculty. Struve noticed Fedorov as a gifted student, and in 1825, while he was still a student, he arranged for him to be appointed assistant to the director of the Derpth Astronomical Observatory. In 1829, Fedorov participated as an astronomer in the scientific expedition of Professor Parrot’s son and in his ascent of Ararat, the purpose of which was to make hypsometric measurements and observations of the pendulum. Fedorov’s report on the work he did in this case was, perhaps, his first scientific work to appear in print, under the title: “Auszug aus Fedorov’s astronomischen und trigonometrischen Beobachtungen, auf Parrot’s Reise zum Ararat und deren Resultate 1834” (Parrot “Reise zum Ararat”, part 1 – 2, B., 1834). After returning from the trip, Fedorov’s astronomical work in Derpth continued until he was sent to Southwestern Siberia in 1832 for a three-year research trip, the purpose of which was to determine the position of places between 50° and 60° latitude. Fedorov dedicated two works to his work on this mission and its results: “Extracts from the Letters of the Wandering Astronomer Vasily Fedorov to the Director of the Struve Observatory in Derpth” (Journal of the Ministry of Public Education, 1834) and “Fedorov’s, W., vorlaufige Berichte uber die von ihm in den Jahren 1832 bis 1837 auf allerhochsten Befehl in West-Sibirien ausgefuhrten astronomisch-geographischen zu dieser Werk” (St. Petersburg, 1838). Fedorov was appointed an acting professor of astronomy at Kyiv University. Here, on July 15, 1837, he delivered a speech at the university’s graduation ceremony entitled “On the apparent contradiction between the truths that emerge from the knowledge of the visible sky, the material sky, and the truths in which the invisible sky, the spiritual sky, is revealed to man” (“Note on the state and actions of St. Volodymyr’s University during the 1836-37 academic year,” Kyiv, 1840; Journal of the Ministry of Public Education, 1840, XXV). In 1838, Fedorov received a doctorate in mathematics from Kyiv University after defending his dissertation “On the exact determination of the geographical position of points visible from a considerable distance.” Fedorov’s approval in 1839 as an ordinary professor was followed by his election to the positions of dean of the second department of the Faculty of Philosophy in 1840-1842, vice-rector in 1841-43, and rector in 1843-47. Not meeting the requirements for an administrator in Russia in terms of his work and the mildness of his character, Fedorov was burdened by his administrative activities and refused to be elected to a new one after his 4-year term as rector. He taught plane and spherical trigonometry with applications, general principles of astronomy, and spherical astronomy. In 1838-39, he also taught geodesy based on Bolotov’s work, and in 1841-42 he taught a special course on the moon, sun, and planets. Under Fedorov’s supervision and direct leadership, an astronomical observatory was built at Kyiv University at the site it still occupies today. After its completion, he guided students in practical astronomy. In addition to the above works, he published: “On the solar eclipse that occurred on June 26, 1842, in Chernihiv” (“Journal of the Ministry of Public Education,” 1842, XXXV) and “On the measures taken by the astronomical observatory of St. Volodymyr’s University to observe the solar eclipse that occurred on July 16 (28), 1851” (“Observations over the solar eclipse that occurred on July 16 (28), 1851”, Kyiv, 1852). Cf. “Biographical Dictionary of Professors and Lecturers of St. Volodymyr’s University (Kyiv, 1884; pp. 796-799). V. O. Bobynin.