Pavel Shternberg | |
|---|---|
| Па́вел Ште́рнберг | |
 | |
| Born | (1865-04-02)2 April 1865 |
| Died | 1 February 1920(1920-02-01) (aged 54) |
| Alma mater | Imperial Moscow University Moscow State University |
| Spouse | Varvara Yakovleva |
| Awards | Medal of theRussian Geographical Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astronomy |
| Institutions | Moscow State University |
| Academic advisors | Fyodor Bredikhin |
Pavel Karlovich Shternberg (Russian:Павел Карлович Штернберг; April 2, [O.S. March 21] 1865 – February 1, 1920) was a Russian professor, academic,astronomer, andBolshevik revolutionary ofGerman descent. Shternberg contributed to the abolition of the Tsarist government byAlexander Kerensky during theFebruary Revolution of 1917. He was an acquaintance of two notable revolutionaries,Vladimir Lenin andLeon Trotsky.
Pavel Shternberg was born inOryol, one of eleven children of a railway contractor. His father was a German immigrant and a subject ofDuchy of Braunschweig who used to be a merchant.[1] He studied mathematics and physics at Moscow University, where he showed exceptional ability in astronomy. His work included processing on the data on Jupiter'sGreat Red Spot. His significant astronomical contributions include discovery of the planetary perturbations, the measurement of the latitude of theMoscow Astronomical Observatory, and the application ofphotography to astronomy. The primary subject of hisastrophotography was capturingdouble stars. In 1914, he was appointed a Professor of Moscow University. In 1916, he was appointed head of the Moscow Observatory.[2]
Unusually, as well as being one of the leading Russian scientists of his day, Shternberg was an active revolutionary.Varvara Yakovleva, his future wife, who was a teenage mathematics student in a Moscow women's college, is credited with persuading him to joinBolshevik faction of theRussian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1905. During the1905 revolution, he hid weapons in his laboratory that were used during the armed Moscow rising.[1] As an eminent academic, he was above suspicion, and stayed in post after the revolution had been suppressed. After theFebruary Revolution, he took part in the meeting of Moscow Bolsheviks that led to the formation ofRed Guards. He was in command of the heavy artillery deployed to attack theKremlin during theMoscow Bolshevik Uprising, when the Bolsheviks seized power in November. As the only eminent academic apart fromMikhail Pokrovsky to support theBolshevik Revolution, he played a leading role in forming the new government's policies in higher education. During theRussian Civil War, he volunteered to act a front linepolitical commissar and was a member of theMilitary Revolutionary Committee of theEastern Front.[3]
In January 1918, the provincial commissioner and professor of theHigher Courses for Women, Pavel Sternberg, issued a security certificate to the collection of theState Darwin Museum.[4] In March 1918, concurrently, he was appointed a member of the Collegium of thePeople's Commissariat of Education and head of the Department of Higher Education. In July 1918, he took part in the preparation and holding of the Meeting of University Workers on the Reform of Higher Education.[5]
In November 1919, the car in which he was travelling fell through the ice into a river in Siberia. Despite being rushed back to Moscow for treatment, he died ofpleurisy.[1] He was buried at theVagankovo Cemetery in Moscow.[6]
TheShternberg Astronomical Institute, and the lunar craterShternberg, are named after him.[7]
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