Background
SHMIDT, Otto was born on September 30, 1891 in Mogilev.
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Otto YuJ’yevich SHMIDT
Astronomer explorer geophysicist mathematician
Otto SHMIDT, USSR Mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist and Arctic explorer. professor. Hero of the Soviet Union (1937); three Orders of Lenin; other orders and medals. member, USSR Academy of Sciences from 1935; Communist Party member from 1918.
Education
Graduated from Kiev University, 1913.
Career
From 1916 associate professor, Kiev University. 1918-1920 Collegium member, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic People’s Commissariat of Food. 1920-1921 Collegium member, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic People’s Commissariat of Education.
1920-1923 professor, Moscow Forestry Institute. 1921-1924 mang, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic-USSR State Publ House. 1923-1926 professor, 2nd Moscow University.
1924-1941 chief ed, “BSE” (Large Soviet Encyclopedia). Also chief ed, journal “Priroda”. 1926-1956 professor, Moscow University.
1927-1930 Collegium member, USSR People’s Commissariat of Education. 1931-1932 Presidium member, USSR State Planning Committee. 1932-1939 director, Main Northern Sea Route Board.
1938-1949 director, Institute of Theoretical Geophysics (now Geophysical Institute), USSR Academy of Sciences. Undertook several Arctic expeditions: 1929 in charge of the expedition abroad icebreaker “G.Sedov” which established first sci station on Franz Joseph Land and navigated western coast of Severnaya Zemlya. One of the islands discovered during this trip now bears his name.
1932 led expedition on board the icebreaker “Sibiryakov” which was the first ship to sail non-stop from Arkhangel’sk to the Pacific Ocean. 1933-1934 in charge of “Chelyuskin” expedition which attempted a non-stop cruise along the Great Northern Sea Route. May 1937 led expedition to set up “North Pole” drifting station.
February 1938 led “North Pole” reliefe expedition. Did research on theory of groups. Devised theorem of the isomorphism of direct expansions of infinite operational groups with a finite main series.
Founded the Moscow school of algebra. In latter years devised theory that Earth and the other planets were formed from the solid particles in a cloud of gas and cosmic dust which once circled the sun and had a mass approximately the same as the total mass of the planets today.
Religion
There is no solid or tangible evidence for God nor a logical argument for God. The existence of God is taken on faith and not by evidence.
Views
Marxism–Leninism as the only truth could not, by its very nature, become outdated.
Membership
Member, USSR Academy of Sciences from 1935. Communist Party member from 1918.
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Born
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Died
September 7, 1956 (aged 64) -
Nationality
USSR
Awards
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Hero of the Soviet Union (1937). Three Orders of Lenin. Other orders and medals.Hero of the Soviet Union (1937). Three Orders of Lenin. Other orders and medals.