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Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; russian: Михаил (Михайло) Васильевич Ломоносов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ , a=Ru-Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.ogg; – ) was a Russian
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the
atmosphere of Venus The atmosphere of Venus is the layer of gases surrounding Venus. It is composed primarily of supercritical carbon dioxide and is much denser and hotter than that of Earth. The temperature at the surface is 740  K (467 °C, 872  ...
and the law of conservation of mass in
chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and breaking ...
s. His spheres of science were
natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
,
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...
,
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...
,
mineralogy 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 ...
, history, art,
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
, optical devices and others. The founder of modern
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...
,Vernadsky, V. (1911) Pamyati M.V. Lomonosova. Zaprosy zhizni, 5: 257-262 (in Russian) n memory of M.V. Lomonosov/ref> Lomonosov was also a poet and influenced the formation of the modern Russian literary language.


Early life and family

Lomonosov was born in the village of Mishaninskaya (later renamed Lomonosovo in his honor) in
Archangelgorod Governorate Archangelgorod Governorate (russian: Архангелогородская губерния, ''Arkhangelogorodskaya guberniya''), or the Government of Archangelgorod, was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia and ...
, on an island not far from Kholmogory, in the far north of Russia. His father, Vasily Dorofeyevich Lomonosov, was a prosperous peasant fisherman turned ship owner, who amassed a small fortune transporting goods from Arkhangelsk to Pustozyorsk, Solovki,
Kola KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio form ...
, and Lapland. Lomonosov's mother was Vasily's first wife, a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
's daughter, Elena Ivanovna Sivkova. He remained at Denisovka until he was ten, when his father decided that he was old enough to participate in his business ventures, and Lomonosov began accompanying Vasily on trading missions. Learning was young Lomonosov's passion, however, not business. The boy's thirst for knowledge was insatiable. Lomonosov had been taught to read as a boy by his neighbor Ivan Shubny, and he spent every spare moment with his books. He continued his studies with the village deacon, S.N. Sabelnikov, but for many years the only books he had access to were religious texts. When he was fourteen, Lomonosov was given copies of
Meletius Smotrytsky Meletius Smotrytsky ( uk, Мелетій Смотрицький, translit=Meletii Smotrytskyi; be, Мялецій Сматрыцкі, translit=Mialiecij Smatrycki; russian: Мелетий Смотрицкий, translit=Meletiy Smotritsky; pl, M ...
's ''Modern Church Slavonic'' (a grammar book) and Leonty Magnitsky's ''Arithmetic''. Lomonosov was a Russian orthodox all his life, but had close encounters with
Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow b ...
schism in early youth and later in life he became a deist. In 1724, his father married for the third and final time. Lomonosov and his stepmother Irina had an acrimonious relationship. Unhappy at home and intent on obtaining a higher education, which Lomonosov could not receive in Mishaninskaya, he was determined to leave the village.


Education in Moscow and Kiev

Determined to "study sciences", in 1730, aged nineteen, Lomonosov walked all the way to
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 million ...
. Shortly after arrival, he was admitted into the Slavic Greek Latin Academy by falsely claiming to be a son of a Kholmogory nobleman. In 1734 that initial falsehood, as well as another lie that he was the son of a priest, nearly got him expelled from the academy but the investigation ended without severe consequences. Lomonosov lived on three kopecks a day, eating only black bread and kvass, but he made rapid progress scholastically. It is believed that in 1735, after three years in Moscow he was sent to
Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
to study for short period at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He quickly became dissatisfied with the education he was receiving there, and returned to Moscow to resume his studies there. In five years Lomonosov completed a twelve-year study course and in 1736, among 12 best graduates, was awarded a
scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...
at the St. Petersburg Academy. He plunged into his studies and was rewarded with a four-year grant to study abroad, in Germany, first at the University of Marburg and then in Freiberg.


Education abroad

The University of Marburg was among Europe's most important universities in the mid-18th century due to the presence of the philosopher Christian Wolff, a prominent figure of the German Enlightenment. Lomonosov became one of Wolff's students while at Marburg from November 1736 to July 1739. Both philosophically and as a science administrator, this connection would be the most influential of Lomonosov's life. In 1739–1740 he studied mineralogy,
metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...
, and mining at Bergrat Johann Friedrich Henckel's laboratory in Freiberg, Saxony; there he intensified his studies of German literature. Lomonosov quickly mastered the German language, and in addition to philosophy, seriously studied
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...
, discovered the works of 17th century Irish theologian and natural philosopher
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders ...
, and even began writing poetry. He also developed an interest in German literature. He is said to have especially admired Günther. His ''Ode on the Taking of
Khotin Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of th ...
from the Turks'', composed in 1739, attracted a great deal of attention in Saint Petersburg. Contrary to his adoration for Wolff, Lomonosov had fierce disputes with Henckel over the training and education courses he and his two compatriot students were getting in Freiberg, as well as over very limited financial support which Henckel was instructed to provide to the Russians after numerous debts they had accumulated in Marburg. As the result, Lomonosov left Freiberg without permission and wandered for quite a while over Germany and Holland, unsuccessfully trying to obtain permission from Russian envoys to return to the St. Petersburg Academy. During his residence in Marburg, Lomonosov boarded with Catharina Zilch, a brewer's widow. He fell in love with Catharina's daughter Elizabeth Christine Zilch. They were married in June 1740. Lomonosov found it extremely difficult to maintain his growing family on the scanty and irregular allowance granted him by 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 t ...
. As his circumstances became desperate, he got permission to return to Saint Petersburg.


Return to Russia

Lomonosov returned to Russia in June 1741, after being abroad 4 years and 8 months. A year later he was named an Adjunct of the Russian Academy of Science in the physics department. In May 1743, Lomonosov was accused, arrested, and held under house arrest for eight months, after he supposedly insulted various people associated with the Academy. He was released and pardoned in January 1744 after apologising to all involved. Lomonosov was made a full member of the Academy, and named Professor of
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...
, in 1745. He established the Academy's first chemistry laboratory.Cornwell, Neil and Christian, Nicole. ''Reference Guide to Russian Literature,'' p. 514. Taylor & Francis: London, 1998 Eager to improve Russia's educational system, in 1755, Lomonosov joined his patron Count
Ivan Shuvalov Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov (russian: link=no, Ива́н Ива́нович Шува́лов; 1 November 172714 November 1797) was called the Maecenas of the Russian Enlightenment and the first Russian Minister of Education. Russia's first theatr ...
in founding
Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
. In 1760, he was elected a Foreign Member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...
. In 1764, he was elected Foreign Member of the Academy of Sciences of the Institute of Bologna In 1764, Lomonosov was appointed to the position of the State Councillor which was of Rank V in the Russian Empire's
Table of Ranks The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a ...
. He died on 4 April (o.s.), 1765 in Saint Petersburg. He is widely and deservingly regarded as the "Father of Russian Science", though many of his scientific accomplishments were relatively unknown outside Russia until long after his death and gained proper appreciation only in late 19th and, especially, 20th centuries.


Physicist

In 1756, Lomonosov tried to replicate
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders ...
's experiment of 1673. He concluded that the commonly accepted
phlogiston theory The phlogiston theory is a superseded scientific theory that postulated the existence of a fire-like element called phlogiston () contained within combustible bodies and released during combustion. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''bur ...
was false. Anticipating the discoveries of Antoine Lavoisier, he wrote in his diary: "Today I made an experiment in hermetic glass vessels in order to determine whether the mass of metals increases from the action of pure heat. The experiments – of which I append the record in 13 pages – demonstrated that the famous Robert Boyle was deluded, for without access of air from outside the mass of the burnt metal remains the same". That is the Law of Mass Conservation in
chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and breaking ...
, which is well-known today as "in a chemical reaction, the mass of reactants is equal to the mass of the products." Lomonosov, together with Lavoisier, is regarded as the one who discovered the law of mass conservation. He stated that all matter is composed of corpuscles – molecules that are "collections" of elements – atoms. In his dissertation "Elements of Mathematical Chemistry" (1741, unfinished), the scientist gives the following definition: "An element is a part of a body that does not consist of any other smaller and different bodies ... corpuscle is a collection of elements forming one small mass." In a later study (1748), he uses the term "atom" instead of "element", and "particula" (particle) or "molecule" instead of "corpuscle". He regarded heat as a form of motion, suggested the
wave theory In historical linguistics, the wave model or wave theory ( German ''Wellentheorie'') is a model of language change in which a new language feature (innovation) or a new combination of language features spreads from its region of origin, affectin ...
of light, contributed to the formulation of the
kinetic theory of gases Kinetic (Ancient Greek: κίνησις “kinesis”, movement or to move) may refer to: * Kinetic theory, describing a gas as particles in random motion * Kinetic energy, the energy of an object that it possesses due to its motion Art and ent ...
, and stated the idea of conservation of matter in the following words: "All changes in nature are such that inasmuch is taken from one object insomuch is added to another. So, if the amount of matter decreases in one place, it increases elsewhere. This universal law of nature embraces laws of motion as well, for an object moving others by its own force in fact imparts to another object the force it loses" (first articulated in a letter to
Leonhard Euler Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries ...
dated 5 July 1748, rephrased and published in Lomonosov's dissertation "Reflexion on the solidity and fluidity of bodies", 1760).


Astronomer

Lomonosov was the first to discover and appreciate the atmosphere of Venus during his observation of the
transit of Venus frameless, upright=0.5 A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and a superior planet, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a tr ...
of 1761 in a small observatory near his house in St Petersburg. On the 5th and 6th of June 2012, a group of astronomers carried out an experimental reconstruction of Lomonosov's discovery of the Venusian atmosphere with antique refractors during the transit of Venus. They concluded that Lomonosov's telescope was fully adequate to the task of detecting the arc of light around Venus off the Sun's disc during ingress or egress if proper experimental techniques as described by Lomonosov in his 1761 paper were employed. In 1762, Lomonosov presented an improved design of a reflecting telescope to 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 t ...
forum. His telescope had its primary mirror adjusted at an angle of four degrees to the telescope's axis. This made the image focus at the side of the telescope tube, where the observer could view the image with an eyepiece without blocking the image. However, this invention was not published until 1827, so this type of telescope has become associated with a similar design by William Herschel, the Herschelian telescope.


Chemist and geologist

In 1759, with his collaborator, academician Joseph Adam Braun, Lomonosov was the first person to record the
freezing Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point. In accordance with the internationally established definition, freezing means the solidification phase change of a liquid ...
of mercury and to carry out initial experiments with it. Believing that nature is subject to regular and continuous
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, he demonstrated the
organic Organic may refer to: * Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity * Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ Chemistry * Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product ...
origin of
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...
,
peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...
, coal,
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 ...
and
amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...
. In 1745, he published a catalogue of over 3,000 minerals, and in 1760, he explained the formation of
iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...
s. In 1763, he published ''On The Strata of the Earth'' – his most significant geological work. This work puts him before
James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role ...
, who has been traditionally regarded as the founder of modern geology. Lomonosov based his conceptions on the unity of the Earth's processes in time, and necessity to explain the planet's past from present.


Geographer

Lomonosov's observation of iceberg formation led into his pioneering work in
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
. Lomonosov got close to the theory of continental drift, theoretically predicted the existence of
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
(he argued that
iceberg An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 m long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating freely in open (salt) water. Smaller chunks of floating glacially-derived ice are called "growlers" or "bergy bits". The ...
s of the South Ocean could be formed only on a dry land covered with ice), and invented sea tools which made writing and calculating directions and distances easier. In 1764, he organized an expedition (led by Admiral
Vasili Chichagov Vasili Yakovlevich Chichagov (russian: Василий Яковлевич Чичагов; 28 February 1726 – 4 April 1809) was an admiral in the Russian Navy and an explorer. He was the father of Pavel Chichagov, a Russian admiral during the ...
) to find the
Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islands o ...
between the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
and Pacific oceans by sailing along the northern coast of
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
.


Mosaicist

Lomonosov was proud to restore the ancient art of
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s. In 1754, in his letter to
Leonhard Euler Leonhard Euler ( , ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, geographer, logician and engineer who founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made pioneering and influential discoveries ...
, he wrote that his three years of experiments on the effects of chemistry of minerals on their colour led to his deep involvement in the mosaic art. In 1763, he set up a glass factory that produced the first stained glass mosaics outside of Italy. There were forty mosaics attributed to Lomonosov, with only twenty-four surviving to the present day. Among the best is the portrait of
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
and the ''Battle of Poltava'', measuring .


Grammarian, poet, historian

In 1755 Lomonosov wrote a
grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...
that reformed the Russian literary language by combining
Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and othe ...
with the vernacular tongue. To further his literary theories, he wrote more than 20 solemn ceremonial odes, notably the ''Evening Meditation on God's Grandeur''. He applied an idiosyncratic theory to his later poems – tender subjects needed words containing the front vowel sounds E, I, Y and U, whereas things that may cause fear (like "anger", "envy", "pain" and "sorrow") needed words with back vowel sounds O, U and Y. That was a version of what is now called sound symbolism. In 1760 Lomonosov published a History of Russia. In addition, he attempted to write a grand epic about
Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
, to be based on the ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
'' by
Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
, but he died before he could finish it.


Legacy

His granddaughter Sophia Konstantinova (1769–1844) married Russian military hero and statesman General Nikolay Raevsky. His great-granddaughter was Princess Maria (Raevskaya) Volkonskaya, the wife of the Decembrist Prince
Sergei Volkonsky Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky (Серге́й Григорьевич Волко́нский; 19 December 1788 – 10 December 1865)Gregorian calendar. His birth and death dates in the Julian calendar were 8 December 1788 and 28 November 186 ...
. The city of
Lomonosov, Russia Lomonosov (russian: Ломоно́сов; before 1948: Oranienbaum, ) is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, located on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersb ...
(former
Oranienbaum, Russia Oranienbaum (russian: Ораниенба́ум) is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. History In 1707, four years af ...
from 1710 to 1948), and a
lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The w ...
bear his name, as does a crater on Mars and the asteroid 1379 Lomonosowa. A Russian satellite launched in 2016 was named Mikhailo Lomonosov after him. The Imperial Porcelain Factory, Saint Petersburg was renamed after him from 1925 to 2005. In 1948, the underwater
Lomonosov Ridge The Lomonosov Ridge (russian: Хребет Ломоносова, da, Lomonosovryggen) is an unusual underwater ridge of continental crust in the Arctic Ocean. It spans between the New Siberian Islands over the central part of the ocean to Ell ...
in the Arctic Ocean was named in his honor. Lomonosov Bridge in Saint Petersburg was named after the polymath. Originally called Chernyshev Bridge in honour of Count Grigory Chernyshev, one of Peter the Great's most prominent generals, whose estates were located nearby, the bridge was erected in 1785-87 and replaced a wooden bridge which had previously stood at the site. It was one of seven stone moveable bridges of similar design crossing the Fontanka River, built simultaneously with the river's granite embankments. Only Lomonosov Bridge and Staro-Kalinkin Bridge have survived more or less intact. Moscow's
Domodedovo airport Domodedovo Airport ( rus, links=no, Домодедово аэропорт, p=dəmɐˈdʲɛdəvə) (IATA: DME, ICAO: UUDD), formally Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov International Airport, is an international airport serving Moscow, the capital of R ...
is officially named after Lomonosov. The Lomonosov Gold Medal was established in 1959 and is awarded annually by the Russian Academy of Sciences to a Russian and a foreign scientist. Lomonosovskaya Station on the
Nevsko-Vasileostrovskaya Line Line 3 of the Saint Petersburg Metro, also known as ''Nevsko-Vasileostrovskaya Line'' (russian: Не́вско-Василеостро́вская ли́ния) or ''Green Line'', is a rapid transit line in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which connects ...
of the Saint Petersburg Metro is named after him. It was opened in 1970. The street "Lomonosova iela" in the Maskavas Forštate district of
Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...
is named in honor of Lomonosov. During the Soviet era a main street in Tallinn, Estonia, was named in his honor as "Lomonossovi M.", but from 1991 it was renamed Gonsiori after Jakob Johann Gonsior, a 19th-century alderman and lawyer. On 19 November 2011,
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
celebrated his 300th birthday with a Google Doodle. A great number of different stamps was issued in honor of Lomonosov throughout the years: Mikhail Lomonosov and building of the Academy in Leningrad stamp of 1925, stamps depicting Lomonosov issued in 1949, in 1956 and in 1961, a 275th Birth Anniversary of M.V.Lomonosov stamp of 1986, a History of Russia ( Ekaterina II) stamp depicting Lomonosov and his study room talking to the queen that was issued in 2004, three 300th Anniversary of the Birth of M.V.Lomonosov stamps were issued in 2011. File:1925 lomonosov 3k text.jpg, 1925 File:Stamp of USSR 0977.jpg, 1945 File:Stamp of USSR 1837.jpg, 1955 File:The Soviet Union 1956 CPA 1966 stamp (Mikhail Lomonosov (After Leontius Miropolsky) and the Kunstkamera in Saint Petersburg).jpg, 1956 File:Rus Stamp-Lomonosov-1961_6.jpg, 1961 File:1961 CPA 2639.jpg, 1961 File:1961 CPA 2641.jpg, 1961 File:1986 CPA 5779.jpg, 1986 File:2004. Марка России Pokrovitel stvo naukam i iskusstvu Ekaterina II v kabinete MV Lomonosova.jpg, 2004 File:Stamp of Russia 2011 No 1543.jpg, 2011 The '' Akademik Lomonosov'', the first of a series of
Russian floating nuclear power station Floating nuclear power stations (Russian: плавучая атомная теплоэлектростанция малой мощности, ПАТЭС ММ, literally "floating combined heat and power (CHP) low-power nuclear power plant") ar ...
s, is named for him. It started operation on 19 December 2019. Moscow State University, founded by him in 1755, was renamed ''M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University '' in 1940, while celebrating its 185th anniversary. There are also Moscow Institute of Mechanics and Electrical Engineering M.V. Lomonosov (Lomonosov Institute), Lomonosov Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Petrography, USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Lomonosov Northern (Arctic) Federal University, Odessa Technological Institute of Food Industry n.a. M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies n.a. M.V. Lomonosov, and several other school in Russia and Kazakhstan. On 19 November 1986, on the 275th anniversary of the birth of M.V. Lomonosov, the
USSR State Bank Gosbank (russian: Госбанк, Государственный банк СССР, ''Gosudarstvenny bank SSSR''—the State Bank of the USSR) was the central bank of the Soviet Union and the only bank in the entire country from 1922 to 1991 ...
issued a 1 ruble commemorative coin from a copper-nickel alloy. On 6 December 2022 the City Council of the
Ukrainia Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
n city
Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...
decided to remove from the city all monuments to figures of Russian culture and
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
, in particular it was mentioned that the monuments to Lomonosov,
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
and
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
would be removed from the public space of the city. File:RR5217-0001R М.В. Ломоносов.png, 1992, the first commemorative coin of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation with a face value of 100 rubles. Gold File:5111-0138-reverse.gif, 2005, 3 rubles, silver. 250th anniversary of the founding of Moscow State University File:RR5110-0111R.png, 2011, 2 rubles, silver. On the occasion of the 300th birthday File:RR5714-0046R.jpg, 2015, commemorative coin, 10 rubles


Works

;English translations * * * * * * * ;German translations * * *


See also

* Christian Wolff (philosopher) *
Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov (russian: Дмитрий Иванович Виноградов; 1720 – ) was a Russian chemist who developed Russian hard-paste porcelain; he was the founder of the Imperial Porcelain Factory. Vinogradov was b ...
*
Franz Aepinus Franz Ulrich Theodor Aepinus (13 December 172410 August 1802) was a German mathematician, scientist, and natural philosopher residing in the Russian Empire. Aepinus is best known for his researches, theoretical and experimental, in electricity ...
* Gerhard Friedrich Müller * Ivan Kulibin * Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche * Johann Daniel Schumacher * Joseph-Nicolas Delisle *
Northern (Arctic) Federal University Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (russian: Северный (Арктический) Федеральный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова), or NArFU for short, is a Federal Univers ...
* Stepan Krasheninnikov * Stepan Rumovsky * Vasily Trediakovsky


References


Citations


Sources

*


Further reading

* * * * * * * * Peter Hoffmann: Michail Vasil'evič Lomonosov (1711–1765). Ein Enzyklopädist im Zeitalter der Aufklärung. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2011. * Norbert Nail (March 2012): Russi intra muros: Studenten aus Sankt Petersburg 1736–1739 bei Christian Wolff in Marburg. Zum 300. Geburtstag des Universalgelehrten Michail Vasil'evič Lomonosov am 19. November 2011. In: Studenten-Kurier 1/2012, pp. 15–19. * Steven Usitalo (2013): The Invention of Mikhail Lomonosov (A Russian National Myth), Academic Studies Press. * M.W. Lomonossow in Freiberg. Herausgegeben anlässlich der Einweihung des Lomonossow-Hauses in der Freiberger Fischerstraße am 7. Februar 2014 (russisch u. deutsch). Freiberg: TU Bergakademie 2014. (Darin: F. Naumann, Michail Wassiljewitsch Lomonossows Weg in die Wissenschaft; F. Naumann, Das Lomonossow-Haus und seine Geschichte; C. Drebenstedt / B. Meyer, Deutsch-Russische Montanbeziehungen im Wandel der Zeit]. ussian and German* R.Crease and V.Shiltsev, "Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765): Scientist in Politically Turbulent Times" in Il Nuovo Saggiatore, vol. 33, issue 5–6 (2017), pp. 43–56 https://web.archive.org/web/20180130092120/https://www.ilnuovosaggiatore.sif.it/issue/54 * Robert Crease / Vladimir Shiltsev: Fueling Peter's Mill: Mikhail Lomonosov's Educational Training in Russia and Germany, 1731–1741. In: Physics in Perspective, Vol. 20, Issue 3, September 2018, pp. 272–304.


External links


Сайт о М.В. Ломоносове
– жизнь, научная деятельность, творчество, историческая родина, туризм на родину Ломоносова, 300-летний юбилей М.В. Ломоносова
Lomonosov and His Time
– electronic collection at the Russian Academy of Sciences website



* * ttp://www.math.nsc.ru/LBRT/g2/english/ssk/mvl_e.html Kutateladze S.S. The Mathematical Background of Lomonosov's Contribution
Lomonosov's matriculation, Marburg 17 November 1736
* Lomonosov's Passport, Marburg 13 May 1741 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lomonosov, Mikhail 1711 births 1765 deaths 18th-century writers from the Russian Empire 18th-century male writers 18th-century scientists from the Russian Empire 18th-century painters from the Russian Empire 18th-century poets from the Russian Empire Enlightenment scientists Linguists from Russia People from Kholmogorsky District People from Archangelgorod Governorate Russian astronomers Russian deists Russian chemists Russian geographers Grammarians from Russia 18th-century historians from the Russian Empire Russian inventors Linguists of Russian Russian male poets Russian male writers Russian paleogeographers Russian philosophers Russian physicists Russian encyclopedists Saint Petersburg State University faculty Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy alumni Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Transit of Venus Enlightenment philosophers Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)