- Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky
Pyotr Petrovich Semenov-Tyan-Shansky ( _ru. Пётр Петрович Семёнов-Тян-Шанский) (
2 January "(New style:14 January )", 1827 –26 February "(New style:March 11 )", 1914) was aRussia n geographer and statistician who managed theRussian Geographical Society for more than 40 years.Pyotr Semenov was born into a noble family and studied in the
Saint Petersburg University . Together withDostoevsky he attended the secret meetings of thePetrashevsky Circle . In the 1850s he went to study geography and geology inBerlin underAlexander Humboldt andKarl Ritter , whose writings he translated in Russian.On Humboldt's suggestion, Semenov decided to explore the largely unknown mountains of the
Tian Shan . In 1856, he set off fromBarnaul on his first expedition, passing through theAltay Mountains and visiting theIssyk Kul on his way. In 1857 he returned to the Tian Shan, exploring the deep interior of this hitherto unknown mountain range. Semenov was the first European to see the scenic panorama of theTengri Tag , and its most beautiful peak, the colossalKhan Tengri .One of his most interesting discoveries was to disprove Humboldt's earlier claims about Tian Shan's supposed volcanic origins. Semenov found no evidence of volcanic activity anywhere in the mountains. The following year, he published the first systematic description of the Tian Shan. The standing of this monograph was such that half a century later
Nicholas II of Russia authorized him to add the epithet "Tian-Shansky" (that is, "of Tian Shan") to his last name.Apart from geography, Semenov also became interested in
statistics and did his best to advance this discipline in Russia. He served as Chairman of the Central Committee for Statistics from 1864 until 1874, when it was transformed into the Statistical Committee of the Ministry of Interior, of which he remained Chairman until 1891. It was largely due to his efforts that the firstcensus of theRussian Empire was held in 1897. The same year, he was made a member of theState Council of Imperial Russia .During his frequent visits to
Switzerland ,Italy , andFrance Semenov — a man of considerable fortune — amassed a collection of Old Dutch Masters, which now belongs to theHermitage Museum . His insect collection boasted ca. 700,000 specimens, while more than a hundred new species were named after him. Semenov was a member of 53learned societies and managed theRussian Geographical Society from 1873 until his death, using this position to encourage the exploration of inland Asia, notably byNikolai Przhevalsky andPyotr Kozlov .Semenov's memoirs were published after his death in four volumes. Several of his descendants, including a son,
Andrey Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky , continued his work and became scientists of note.References
* Semenov, Petr Petrovitch. "Travels in the Tian'-Shan' 1856-1857". Trans. by Liudmila Gilmour, Colin Thomas and Marcus Wheeler. Edited and annotated by Colin Thomas. The Hakluyt Society, London. (1998). ISBN 0-904180-60-3.
External links
* [http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/11/b2003/hm11_4_67.html Information about donation to the Hermitage]
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