Alexander Mikhaylovich Butlerov (; 15 September 1828 – 17 August 1886) was a
Russian chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...
, one of the principal creators of the theory of
chemical structure
A chemical structure of a molecule is a spatial arrangement of its atoms and their chemical bonds. Its determination includes a chemist's specifying the molecular geometry and, when feasible and necessary, the electronic structure of the target m ...
(1857–1861), the first to incorporate
double bond
In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betw ...
s into structural formulas, the discoverer of
hexamine (1859), the discoverer of
formaldehyde
Formaldehyde ( , ) (systematic name methanal) is an organic compound with the chemical formula and structure , more precisely . The compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde. It is stored as ...
(1859) and the discoverer of the
formose reaction (1861). He first proposed the idea of possible
tetrahedral
In geometry, a tetrahedron (: tetrahedra or tetrahedrons), also known as a triangular pyramid, is a polyhedron composed of four triangular Face (geometry), faces, six straight Edge (geometry), edges, and four vertex (geometry), vertices. The tet ...
arrangement of
valence bonds in carbon compounds in 1862.
The crater
Butlerov on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
is named after him. In 1956 the
Academy of Sciences of the USSR established the A. M. Butlerov Prize.
Biography
Butlerov was born into a landowning family. In 1849 he graduated from the
Imperial Kazan University.
after which he worked there as a teacher. From 1860 to 1863 he was the rector. From 1868 to 1885 he was a professor of Chemistry at the
Imperial St. Petersburg University.
Butlerov was the chairman of the Chemistry Department of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society from 1878 to 1882.
USSR
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
References
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butlerov, Alexander
1828 births
1886 deaths
People from Chistopol
Chemists from the Russian Empire
Inventors from the Russian Empire
Academic staff of Saint Petersburg State University
Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences