Pyotr Shirshov | |
|---|---|
| Пётр Ширшов | |
 Shirshov in 1946 | |
| Born | 25 December [O.S. 12 December] 1905 |
| Died | 17 February 1953 (aged 47) |
| Awards | Hero of the Soviet Union |
Pyotr Petrovich Shirshov (Russian:Пётр Петро́вич Ширшо́в; 25 December [O.S. 12 December] 1905 – 17 February 1953) was aSovietoceanographer,hydrobiologist, polar explorer, statesman, academician (1939), the first minister ofMinistry of Maritime Fleet of the USSR andHero of the Soviet Union (1938).
Pyotr Shirshov graduated from theOdessa Public Education Institute in 1929. In 1929–1932, he was a researcher at theBotanical Garden of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1932–1936, Pyotr Shirshov was employed as a researcher at theAll-Union Arctic Institute. He participated in numerous Arctic expeditions, including the ones on icebreakersSibiryakov (1932) andChelyuskin and adrifting ice stationNorth Pole-1 (1937-1938).[1] In 1942–1948, Pyotr Shirshov wasPeople's Commissar of the Maritime Fleet, later minister ofMinistry of Maritime Fleet of the USSR. In 1946–1953, he headed theInstitute of Oceanology of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, which he had established himself. In 1946–1950, Pyotr Shirshov chaired the Pacific Ocean Science Committee.
Pyotr Shirshov authored numerous works dealing with his research onplankton in polar regions. He is known to have proven the fallacy of the hypothesis that there is no life in high latitudes of theArctic Ocean. Pyotr Shirshov was awarded threeOrders of Lenin, four other orders, and several medals.
A bay in theFranz Josef Land, an underwater range in theBering Sea, and Shirshov Institute of Oceanology bear Pyotr Shirshov's name.
Mount Shirshov, in theTula Mountains,Enderby Land, is also named after Shirshov.
This article includes content derived from theGreat Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969–1978, which is partially in thepublic domain.
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