Alexander Petrovich Karpinsky (russian: Александр Петрович Карпинский, trl. Aljeksandr Pjetrovič Karpinskij; 7 January 1847 ( NS) – 15 July 1936) was a prominent

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

, and the president of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

, and later Academy of Sciences of the USSR, in 1917–1936.

Biography

Karpinsky was born in Turyinskiye Rudniki,

Perm Governorate Perm Governorate (russian: link=no, Пермская губерния) was an administrative unit of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union from 1781 to 1923. It was also known as the ''government of Perm''. It was located on both slopes of t ...

(now Krasnoturyinsk, Sverdlovsk Oblast), in the

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

, into a family of mining engineers. From 1857 to 1866 he studied at the mining school in St. Petersburg, and in 1863-1866 he also attended the Mineralogical Institute. From 1866 to 1869 he worked in his home area in the Urals as a mining engineer. He was invited to the Mining Institute, St. Petersburg in 1869 as an Assistant Professor, whilst also doing further studies and research. He was given full professorship in 1877. He stayed there until 1885. He was the imperial director of mining research from 1885 to 1916. Karpinsky was elected to the

in 1886, was elected its president in May 1917, and held this title until his death. His main research was chiefly done in the

, and he completed the first geological map of European Russia. He was able to preserve much scientific equipment and many invaluable records during the turmoil, and looting, of the Russian Revolution. Karpinsky died on 15 July 1936 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, at the age of 89 and was cremated and an urn with his ashes lies in the

Kremlin Wall Necropolis The Kremlin Wall Necropolis was the national cemetery for the Soviet Union. Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik individuals who died during the Moscow Bolshevik Uprising were buried in m ...

in Moscow, and is the oldest (by the date of birth) person to be so.

Publications

*''An Outline of Physical Geography of European Russia in Past Geological Periods'' *''The General Character of the Changes in the Earth's Crust within the bounds of European Russia''

Named in his honor

*The mineral karpinskiteKarpinskite
mindat.org *The

lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

crater Karpinsky *The

Karpinsky Group The Karpinsky Group (russian: Вулкан Карпинского) is a volcanic group located at the southern end of Paramushir Island, Kuril Islands, Russia. The group is capped by two gently sloping cones rising to a height of 1,326 m. They are ...

of volcanoes on

Paramushir Paramushir (russian: Парамушир, Paramushir, ja, 幌筵島, Paramushiru-tō, ain, パラムシㇼ, translit=Para=mu=sir) is a volcanic island in the northern portion of Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Oc ...

Island in the Kurils *

Karpinsky Glacier Karpinsky Glacier or Karpinsky Ice Cap (russian: Ледник Карпинского; ''Lednik Karpinskogo''), also known as Mount Karpinsky, is a large ice cap on October Revolution Island, Severnaya Zemlya, Russian Federation. It was named aft ...

Severnaya Zemlya Severnaya Zemlya (russian: link=no, Сéверная Земля́ (Northern Land), ) is a archipelago in the Russian high Arctic. It lies off Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula, separated from the mainland by the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago ...

Russian Arctic The Extreme North or Far North (russian: Крайний Север, Дальний Север) is a large part of Russia located mainly north of the Arctic Circle and boasting enormous mineral and natural resources. Its total area is about , ...

* Mount Karpinsky, Urals at 1878 m lies between the

Tyumen Oblast Tyumen Oblast (russian: Тюме́нская о́бласть, ''Tyumenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Western Siberia region of Siberia, and is administratively part of the Urals ...

and the

Komi Republic The Komi Republic (russian: Республика Коми; kv, Коми Республика), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. Its capital is the city of Syktyvkar. The population of th ...

in Russia *The town of

Karpinsk Karpinsk (russian: Карпи́нск) is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Turya River ( Ob's basin), north of Yekaterinburg, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: The town is named for mineralogist and geolog ...

, Sverdlovsk Oblast on the east side of the

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...

* Karpinsky Russian Geology Research Institute *in 1947 (on the centenary of his birth) the Academy of Sciences of the USSR created the Karpinsky Gold Medal, awarded for outstanding contributions in the field of geology.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karpinsky, Alexander Petrovich 1847 births 1936 deaths People from Krasnoturyinsk People from Verkhotursky Uyezd Russian geologists Russian mineralogists Soviet geologists Antarctic scientists Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925) Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Presidents of the USSR Academy of Sciences Wollaston Medal winners Burials at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis