Boris Sergeyevich Sokolov (russian: Борис Серге́евич Соколов) (April 9, 1914 – September 2, 2013) was a Russian

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

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

. Sokolov authored reference works on the stratigraphy of Eastern Europe, in particular the fossil

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

records, and created the concept of ''Vendian period'', currently recognized as largely overlapping, but not fully equivalent to Ediacaran.

Biography

Sokolov, the son of a village

feldsher According to the World Health Organization, a feldsher (german: Feldscher, pl, Felczer, cs, Felčar, russian: фельдшер, sv, Fältskär, Finnish: ''Välskäri'') is a health care professional who provides various medical services limi ...

(medic), was born in

Vyshny Volochyok Vyshny VolochyokThe more-regular spelling Vyshny Volochok ( rus, Вы́шний Волочо́к)—with instead of after an unpaired " hush consonant"—is seen but is not official; the two spellings are pronounced the same in Russian. ( rus, ...

. In 1931 he moved to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and became an apprentice electrician. A blue-collar work experience was a prerequisite for admission into the university. After a year of work Sokolov was allowed to enroll at the Department of Geology and Soil Sciences of

Leningrad University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

. He graduated with honors in 1937 and remained there to take a course of postgraduate studies. Sokolov's early work concentrated on the stratigraphy of the

Russian Platform East European Platform or Russian Platform is a large and flat area covered by sediments in Eastern Europe spanning from the Ural Mountains to the Tornquist Zone and from the Peri-Caspian Basin to the Barents Sea. Over geological time the platfor ...

, in particular the diagnostics of fossil

s for the identification of Carboniferous

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

deposits.Dobretsov et al. Shortly before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Sokolov was appointed to lead a Soviet field research company in China. After two years of field work in

Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

, the

Turpan Depression The Turpan Depression or Turfan Depression, is a fault-bounded trough located around and south of the city-oasis of Turpan, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far Western China, about southeast of the regional capital Ürümqi. It includes L ...

and

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydr ...

(1941–1943) he returned to Soviet Central Asia to search for

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

deposits on the northern side of Tian Shan. In 1945 he returned to Leningrad to complete his postgraduate thesis on Chaetetida, based on his pre-war studies. In 1950 he published ''Chaetetida of the Carboniferous Period'', followed by five reference volumes of ''Paleozoan Tables'' (1951–1955). These works earned him his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

. A revised edition, included in the 16-volume ''Foundations of Paleontology'', was awarded the State Prize for 1967.Dobretsov et al. In the early 1950s Sokolov joined a group of geologists tasked with the analysis of recent deep boring samples. Sokolov discovered what he believed was a hitherto unknown geographical layer preceding the Cambrian, which he called ''Vend'' (''Vendian Period''). The name ''Vend'' appeared in his papers from 1950; in 1952 academician Alexander Vinogradov endorsed Sokolov's theory and ''Vend'' appeared on Soviet geological charts as an independent

.Dobretsov et al. In 1958 Sokolov accepted an invitation to join the newly formed Siberian Division of the Academy of Sciences as a corresponding member, and moved to Novosibirsk. Together with Vladimir Saks (1911–1979) Sokolov created a new Siberian school of stratigraphy and paleontology, which survived into the 21st century as the Institute of Oil and Gas Geology. Sokolov continued production of geological references, but eventually concentrated on his theory of the transition from Vendian (Ediacaran) biota to Cambrian, which he believed was critical to our understanding of evolution. He coined the Russian term for '' Precambrian Paleontology'' (Палеонтология докембрия), which evolved into a separate branch of science.Dobretsov et al. Sokolov was elected to full membership of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1968, and headed the Department of Geology of the Academy from 1975 to 1987, the longest tenure since the establishment of the Department. He chaired the International Stratigraphic Commission and the International Paleontology Association from 1972 until his death, and the national Paleontological Society from 1974 until his death. In 1998 Sokolov became the first geologist to be awarded the

Lomonosov Gold Medal The Lomonosov Gold Medal (russian: Большая золотая медаль имени М. В. Ломоносова ''Bol'shaya zolotaya medal' imeni M. V. Lomonosova''), named after Russian scientist and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov, is awarded ...

.Dobretsov et al.

Footnotes

References

* N. Dobretsov et al. (2004, in Russian).
Академик Борис Сергеевич Соколов
'. Nauka v Sibiri, No. 14 (2450), April 9, 2004. Retrieved October 31, 2010. *
The 95th Birthday of Boris Sergeevich Sokolov
'. Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation, Volume 17, no. 2 (April 2009), pp. 113–116. . Translated from a Russian editorial in ''Stratigrafia i geologicheskaya korrelacia'', 2009, vol. 17 no. 2, pp. 3–6. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolov, Boris Sergeyevich 1914 births 2013 deaths People from Vyshny Volochyok Russian geologists Russian paleontologists Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Soviet geologists Soviet paleontologists Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery