V.V. Dokuchaev as a mineralogist (on the 175th anniversary)
Krivovichev V. G.
Zapiski RMO (Proceedings of the Russian Mineralogical Society). 2021. V. 150. N 3. P. 130-140
https://doi.org/10.31857/S0869605521030060
Full text is available on eLIBRARY.RU
Language: Russian
Abstract
Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev (1846–1903) – an outstanding Russian soil scientist, geologist and mineralogist, author of the famous work “Russian Chernozem” (1883), established the scientific basis of the soil science. He considers the soil as a natural body having its own genesis and its own history of development. The bedrock becomes soil under influence of a series of soil-forming factors (climate, vegetation, parent material, relief and age). At the same time, Dokuchaev’s biographers often ignore the fact that he was a professor and head of the Department of Mineralogy (1881–1897) at St. Petersburg University. During 17 years, he taught crystallography and mineralogy, published summaries of his lectures (actually textbooks) on these disciplines and did manage to lay the foundations for a new scientific direction in the science – genetic or dynamic mineralogy. In 1890 for his contribution to mineralogical science, V.V. Dokuchaev was elected the Honorary Member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society (now the Russian Mineralogical Society). The new mineral species dokuchaevite was named in honor of Professor Vasily Vasili’evich Dokuchaev.
Keywords: genetic mineralogy, soil, soil science, history of science, V.V. Dokuchaev, P.A. Puzyrevsky, V.I. Vernadsky
