Alexandre Safiannikoff (1903—1988) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

descent.

Early life and military career

Safiannikoff was a descendant of a family involved in the Imperial Russian Army. He was born in Dalian,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, and joined the army of admiral Alexander Kolchak in Omsk, where he fought against the revolutionary troops. In 1920, he was incorporated into the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

. In 1922, he became an officer, and moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where he obtained degrees in sciences at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1926, and geological engineering at the

University of Nancy A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1927.

Career in Africa

Between 1929 and 1931, a French company charged him with prospecting in Chad,

Ubangui-Shari Ubangi-Shari (french: Oubangui-Chari) was a French colonial empire, French colony in central Africa, a part of French Equatorial Africa. It was named after the Ubangi River, Ubangi and Chari River, Chari rivers of the Central African Republi ...

, and

French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (french: link=no, Afrique-Équatoriale française), or the AEF, was the federation of French colonial possessions in Equatorial Africa, extending northwards from the Congo River into the Sahel, and comprising what are ...

. Afterwards, he went to the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

to work for the

Empain group The Empain group was a loose grouping of companies founded by Édouard Empain (1852–1929) of Belgium and controlled by the Empain family. From 1881 until merging with Schneider & Cie in 1969, the companies engaged in a broad range of activities ...

of Baron Empain. Eventually, he became the administrative director of the Compagnie Minière des Grands-Lacs. He became a naturalised Belgian citizen in 1950. As a geologist, he discovered four minerals: in 1959, Safiannkioff discovered the Lueshite mineral at

Lueshe mine The Lueshe mine, or Lweshe mine, is a niobium mine located in Rutshuru Territory in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The site is one of the most economically significant pyrochlore deposits in the world. The rare niob ...

; furthermore, he discovered

Microlite Microlite was once known as a pale-yellow, reddish-brown, or black isometric mineral composed of sodium calcium tantalum oxide with a small amount of fluorine. Its chemical formula is. Today it is a name of a group of oxide minerals of a similar ...

, Rankamaite, and

Pyrochlore Pyrochlore () is a mineral group of the niobium end member of the pyrochlore supergroup. The general formula, (where A and B are metals), represent a family of phases isostructural to the mineral pyrochlore. Pyrochlores are an important class of ...

, also known as Safiannikoffite. Safiannikoff worked and lived more than forty years in the

Kivu Kivu was the name for a large "region" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko that bordered Lake Kivu. It included three "Sub-Regions" ("Sous-Régions" in French): Nord-Kivu, Sud-Kivu and Maniema, correspondi ...

Maniema Maniema is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Kindu. Toponymy Henry Morton Stanley explored the area, calling it Manyema.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , ...

region in the east of Congo/

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, where he lived among the Lega and Wabembe people. He was interested in cultural objects of these population groups, and observed, studied, described, and collected many of those objects. In that context, he published ''Les Warega et les Wabembe. Une extraordinaire culture sociale et une étonnante civilisation sans écriture en Afrique centrale''. Safiannikoff died in

Rixensart Rixensart (; wa, Ricsinsåt) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. On January 1, 2018, Rixensart had a total population of 22,401. The total area is 17.54 km² which gives a population density of ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, in 1988.

Distinctions

BEL Royal Order of the Lion - Officer BAR

Royal Order of the Lion The Royal Order of the Lion (french: Ordre Royal du Lion; nl, Koninklijke orde van de Leeuw) was established by King Leopold II of Belgium on 9 April 1891, in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State, and was awarded for services to th ...

(1952)

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Safiannikoff, Alexandre Belgian geologists 1903 births 1988 deaths University of Paris alumni Belgian Congo officials Russian emigrants to Belgium