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Otto Schmidt | |
|---|---|
 Schmidt in 1938 | |
| Born | 30 September [O.S. 18 September] 1891 Mogilev, Russian Empire |
| Died | 7 September 1956(1956-09-07) (aged 64) Moscow,Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Alma mater | Saint Vladimir Imperial University of Kiev |
| Known for | Krull–Schmidt theorem Accretion model Arctic exploration |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Mathematics Astronomy Geophysics |
| Doctoral advisor | Dmitry Grave |
| Doctoral students | Vladimir Andrunakievich |
Otto Yulyevich Shmidt[a] (bornOtto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; 30 September [O.S. 18 September] 1891 – 7 September 1956), better known asOtto Schmidt, was a Sovietscientist,mathematician,astronomer,geophysicist,statesman, andacademician.
He was born in the town ofMogilev in theRussian Empire, in what is nowBelarus. His father was a descendant ofBaltic German settlers inCourland, while his mother was aLatvian.[1] In 1912 and 1913, while in university, he published a number of mathematical works ongroup theory which laid foundation forKrull–Schmidt theorem.[2]
In 1913, Schmidt marriedVera Yanitskaia and graduated from theSaint Vladimir Imperial University of Kiev, where he worked as aprivat-docent starting from 1916. In 1918 he became a member of theRussian Social Democratic Labour Party (Internationallists) which was later dissolved in to theRussian Communist Party. After theOctober Revolution of 1917, he was a board member at severalPeople's Commissariats (narkomats) – such asNarkomprod from 1918 to 1920 (Narodnyi Komissariat Prodovolstviya, or People's Commissariat for Supplies),People's Commissariat for Finance from 1921 to 1922 (Narodnyi Komissariat Finansov, or People's Commissariat for Finances). Schmidt was one of the chief proponents of developing the higher education system, publishing, and science inSoviet Russia.
He worked atNarkompros (People's Commissariat for Education), the State Scientific Board at theCouncil of People's Commissars of theUSSR, and theCommunist Academy. He was Chair of theForeign Literature Committee from October 1921.[3] Following theLitkens Commission Schmidt was also employed as the director of the State Publishing House (Gosizdat) from 1921 to 1924, and chief editor of theGreat Soviet Encyclopedia from 1924 to 1941. From 1923 he was a professor at theSecond Moscow State University and later at theMoscow State University, and from 1930 to 1932, Schmidt was the head of the Arctic Institute. During this time he coined the term for thedouble bond rule that relates to allylic and similar systems.[4]
From 1932 to 1939, he was appointed head ofGlavsevmorput' (Glavnoe upravlenie Severnogo Morskogo Puti) – an establishment that oversaw all commercial operations on theNorthern Sea Route. From 1939 to 1942, Schmidt became avice-president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, where he organized the Institute of Theoretical Geophysics (he was its director until 1949). Otto Schmidt was a founder of the Moscow Algebra School, which he directed for many years.
In the mid-1940s, Schmidt suggested a newcosmogonicalhypothesis on the formation of theEarth and otherplanets of theSolar System, which he continued to develop together with a group of Soviet scientists until his death.
Schmidt was an explorer of the Arctic. In 1929 and 1930, he led expeditions on thesteamicebreakerGeorgy Sedov, establishing the first scientific research station on theFranz Josef Land, exploring the northwestern parts of theKara Sea and western coasts ofSevernaya Zemlya, and discovering a few islands.
In 1932, Schmidt's expedition on the steam icebreakerSibiryakov withCaptain Vladimir Voronin made a non-stop voyage fromArkhangelsk to thePacific Ocean without wintering for thefirst time in history.
From 1933 to 1934, Schmidt led the voyage of thesteamshipCheliuskin, also withCaptain Vladimir Voronin, along the Northern Sea Route. In 1937, he supervised anairborne expedition that established adrift-ice station "North Pole-1". In 1938, he was in charge of evacuating its personnel from the ice.
Otto Schmidt was a member of theCentral Executive Committee of the USSR and adeputy of theSupreme Soviet of the USSR of the firstconvocation (1938–1946).
The authorities awarded Otto Schmidt threeOrders of Lenin, three other orders and many medals.Schmidt Island in theKara Sea,Cape Schmidt on the coastline of theChukchi Sea inChukotka Autonomous Okrug, as well as the Institute of Earth Physics at theSoviet Academy of Sciences, among other places, bear Schmidt's name.
Aminor planet,2108 Otto Schmidt – discovered in 1948 bySoviet astronomerPelageya Shajn – commemorates him.[5]
The Soviet research vesselOtto Schmidt was named after him in 1979.
