Pavel Karlovich Sternberg was a Russian astronomer and revolutionary. He was friends with two notable Communists, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky.
Background
Pavel Karlovich Sternberg was born on March 19, 1865, in Orel, Russian Empire (now Russian Federation) in a family of immigrants from Germany, and had 10 brothers and sisters. His father Karl Andreevich Sternberg, a subject of the Duchy of Braunschweig, was a merchant.
Education
In 1883, Pavel Karlovich graduated from the Orel classical gymnasium and entered the mathematical department of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of Moscow University. At Moscow University, Pavel Karlovich became one of the best students of the outstanding astronomer F. A. Bredikhin.
During his studies, he proved himself to be a multi-talented person: he loved music, played several musical instruments, performed in an orchestra.
Career
Pavel Karlovich contributed to the abolition of the Czarist government by Alexander Kerensky during the February Revolution of 1917.
The primary subject of his astrophotography was capturing double stars. The Shternberg Astronomical Institute, and the lunar crater Shternberg, are named after him.