Alexei Pavlovich Fedchenko (russian: Алексей Павлович Федченко;
31 August/15 September 1873), a.k.a. Alexei Pavlovich Fedtschenko, was a Russian
naturalist and
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
well known for his travels in
central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
. Alternative transliterations of his name, used in languages such as German, include Aleksei Pavlovich Fedtschenko and Alexei Pawlowitsch Fedtschenko.
Biography
Fedchenko was born at
Irkutsk
Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...
, in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, and after attending the
gymnasium of his native town, proceeded to the
University of Moscow
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
, to study
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
and
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...
.
He married
Olga Armfeldt, a botanist. In 1868, they travelled through
Turkestan
Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang.
Overview
Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...
,
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
,
Panjakent
, image_skyline = Pajakent Bazaar1.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption = Panjakent Bazaar
, image_flag =
, image_seal =
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Tajikistan#West Asia
, pushpin_relief = yes
, pushpin_label_position =
, pushp ...
, and the upper
Zarafshan River
The Zeravshan; uz, Zeravshon, Зеравшон, زېرەۋشان; from Persian fa, , Zarâfšân – meaning "the spreader of gold" is a river in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Its name, "spreader of gold" in Persian, refers to th ...
valley. In 1870, they explored the Fan Mountains south of the Zarafshan. In 1871, they reached the
Alay Valley
The Alay Valley ( ky, Алай өрөөнү, ) is a broad, dry valley running east–west across most of southern Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan. It spreads over a length of east–west. The valley extends in north–south direction with varying width ...
at
Daroot-Korgan and saw the northern
Pamir Mountains
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range between Central Asia and Pakistan. It is located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the world ...
but were unable to penetrate southward.
He also collected significant numbers of insects from three explorations from 1869 to 1873. These were then studied by
Ferdinand Morawitz
Ferdinand Ferdinandovich Morawitz (russian: Фердинанд Фердинандович Моравиц, german: Ferdinand Carl Joseph Morawitz; 3 August 1827 in St. Petersburg – 5 December 1896 in St. Petersburg) was a Russian entomologist ...
in
St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. He recorded 438 species belonging to 36 genera from Central Asia, 68 species of ''
Andrena
''Andrena'' is a genus of bees in the family Andrenidae. With over 1,500 species, it is one of the largest genera of animals. It is a strongly monophyletic group that is difficult to split into more manageable divisions; currently, ''Andrena'' is ...
'', 17 species from Europe, and 51 new species.
Soon after their return to Europe, he perished on
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc (french: Mont Blanc ; it, Monte Bianco , both meaning "white mountain") is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, rising above sea level. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and i ...
while engaged in a tour in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
He had been trying to look at glaciers in France to see how they compared with those in Turkestan. He was 29 years old. His widow had him buried in
Chamonix
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
.
After he died, his widow published his investigations and work, before she started re-exploring. She later worked with their son,
Boris, but Olga remained an important botanist in her own right.
Alexei Fedchenko discovered the life cycle of ''
Dracunculus'' which causes
Dracunculiasis
Dracunculiasis, also called Guinea-worm disease, is a parasitic infection by the Guinea worm, ''Dracunculus medinensis''. A person becomes infected by drinking water containing water fleas infected with guinea worm larvae. The worms penetrate t ...
, more commonly known as Guinea worm disease (GWD). Accounts of the explorations and discoveries of Fedchenko were published by the Russian government: his ''Journeys in Turkestan'' in 1874, ''In the Khanat of Khokand'' in 1875, and ''Botanical Discoveries'' in 1876. See also
Petermann's ''Mittheilungen'' (1872–1874).
The
Fedchenko Glacier in the
Pamir Pamir may refer to:
Geographical features
* Pamir Mountains, a mountain range in Central Asia
** Pamir-Alay, a mountain system in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, part of the Pamir Mountains
*A pamir (valley) is a high plateau or valley surro ...
s is named after him, as is the asteroid
3195 Fedchenko.
The botanical epithets ''fedtschenkoi'' and ''fedtschenkoanus'' may each refer to either Alexei Fedtchenko, or his son Boris Fedtchenko.
''
Primula fedtschenkoi'' (Regel) was named after him in 1875. ''
Bambusa fecunda fedtschenkoi'', may have been named after him, also a
lacewing
The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera can be grouped together with the Megaloptera and Raphidioptera in t ...
in 1875, ''
Lopezus fedtschenkoi'' (MacLachlan). A species of
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
, ''
Tenuidactylus fedtschenkoi'', is named in his honor.
[Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Fedtschenko", p. 88).]
Works
*1875 ''Puteshestvie v Turkestan; zoogeographicheskia izledovania. Gos. izd-vo Geograficheskoi Literatury'', Moskva.
Notes
References
*Robert Middleton and Huw Thomas, "Tajikistan and the High Pamirs", Odyssey Guides, 2008
*Baker, D. B., 2004 Type material of Hymenoptera described by O. L. Radoszkowsky in the Natural History Museum, London, and the localities of A. P. Fedtschencko's Reise in Turkestan ''Dt. ent. Zeitschr.'' 51, 231–252.
*Lohde, G. 1873
edtschenko, A. P.''Berl. Ent. Ztschr''. 17 236–238.
*Mac Lachlan, R. 1973
edtschenko, A. P.''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'' (3) 10(1873–74)141.
*Pesenko, Yu. A. & Astafurova, Yu. V. 2003: Annotated Bibliography of Russian and Soviet Publications on the Bees 1771 - 2002 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea; excluding ''Apis mellifera''). ''Denisia'' 11 1–616.
*Regel, E. 1874
edtschenko, A. P.''Regel, Gartenflora'' 3–7, Portr.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fedchenko, Alexei Pavlovich
1844 births
1873 deaths
Explorers from the Russian Empire
Russian geographers
Russian geologists
Russian entomologists
19th-century botanists from the Russian Empire
Hymenopterists
Explorers of Asia
People from Irkutsk
Moscow State University alumni
Mountaineering deaths