Feodosy Nikolayevich Krasovsky (; – October 1, 1948) was a Russian and Soviet

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and geodesist. He was born in Galich. In 1900 he graduated from the ''Mezhevoy'' (land surveying) ''Institute'' in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

; in 1907 he began working as a lecturer there.

Research work

At the end of 1928 the '' Central Research Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Surveying and Cartography'' (TsNIIGAiK) was founded on his initiative; he worked there as a director (1928–1930) and as a deputy director of science (1930–1937). Between 1924 and 1930 Krasovsky headed astronomical, geodetical and cartographical works in the Soviet Union. He worked out the theory and methods of construction of the national geodetical network of the USSR and solved related problems of

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

and

gravimetry Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest. The study of gravity c ...

works. Krasovsky and another Soviet geodesist, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Izotov, in 1940 defined dimensions of an

ellipsoid An ellipsoid is a surface that can be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional Scaling (geometry), scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation. An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a Surface (mathemat ...

which was named the Krasovsky ellipsoid and was later used as a

reference ellipsoid An Earth ellipsoid or Earth spheroid is a mathematical figure approximating the Earth's form, used as a reference frame for computations in geodesy, astronomy, and the geosciences. Various different ellipsoids have been used as approximation ...

in the

Soviet Union 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 ...

and other countries until the 1990s. In 1939 Krasovsky became the Corresponding Member of the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

. Krasovsky died in

in 1948.

Awards

* Stalin Prize (1943, 1952 – posthumously) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(1945) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

In 2024 the Government of the Russian Federation established a prize in the field of geodesy and cartography in honoгr of Feodosiy Nikolaevich Krasovsky.

Citations and notes

References

* Gillispie Coulston, Charles, ''Dictionary of Scientific Biography'', v.7, American Council of Learned Societies, Scribner, 1972 * Farbman, Michael, ''Europa'', Europa publications limited, 1930 * ''Surveying and Mapping: quarterly publication of American Congress on Surveying and Mapping'', v.23, American Congress on Surveying and Mapping, United States Superintendent of Documents, Superintendent of Documents, 1963 * Guelke, Leonard, ''Cartographica'', York University (Toronto, Ont.), Department of Geography, Canadian Cartographic Association, University of Toronto Press, 1971

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasovsky, Feodosy 1878 births 1948 deaths People from Kostroma Oblast Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences 20th-century Russian astronomers Cartographers from the Russian Empire Geodesists from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet astronomers Soviet cartographers Soviet geodesists Burials at Vvedenskoye Cemetery Russian scientists

Research work

Awards

See also

Citations and notes

References

External links