Aleksandr Nikolaevich Formozov (1899–1973) was a Soivet

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

Biography

Alexander Formozov was born in Nizhny Novgorod to Nikolai Yelpidiforovich Formozov (1871–1928) and Elizabeth Fedorovna née Fedorova. His father worked in the local institutions, contributed to newspapers and was a keen hunter. Alexander's early studies were at the local Gymnasium after which he moved to study chemistry at the Warsaw Polytechnic Institute. In 1919 he joined the Red Army and fought on the Southern Front. He later moved to study biology and then graduated in natural sciences from Moscow State University in 1925. He went on an expedition to Mongolia and the Far East organized by the USSR Academy of Sciences. He became an associate professor in 1929 at Leningrad and a full professor from 1935. He headed the Research Institute of Poultry and Poultry industry from 1931 and an institute for fur and hunting. He worked on aspects of biogeography from 1962. From 1945 Formozov centred his research on the

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

of the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

s and

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

s found in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He married twice, first to Lyubov Nikolaevna née Promptova (1903–1990) sister of the ornithologist Aleksandr Promptov. They had a son Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Formozov (1928–2009), who was a prominent archeologist. His second wife was Varvara Ivanovna Osmolovskaya (1916–1994) with whom he had two children.

References

External links

An article on Formozov's second wife as an ornithology student
{{DEFAULTSORT:Formozov, Aleksandr 1899 births 1973 deaths People from Nizhny Novgorod Soviet biologists Moscow State University alumni