Boris Pavlovich Demidovich (; be, Барыс Паўлавіч Дземідовіч;
Navahrudak
Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus.
In the Middle A ...
, March 2, 1906 –
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, April 23, 1977) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
/
Belorussian mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
.
Family and early life
Demidovich was born in a family of
teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching.
''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
s.
[Moscow Public Library]
His father, Pavel (1871 – 1931), was able to get higher education, graduating in 1897 in
Vilna
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...
; Pavel Demidovich was a teacher throughout his life, first teaching in different towns in the
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
and
Vilna
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...
Governorates, and then in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
; he was very attached to his family, and to Belorussian beliefs and rituals. He also recorded some anonymous literary works of the Belorussian tradition. In 1908 Pavel Demidovich was nominated member of the Imperial Officer of the Company Enthusiasts science, Anthropology at
Moscow University
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 ...
.
Demidovich's mother, Olympia Platonovna Demidovich (1876–1970), the daughter of a
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
, had been a teacher too before her marriage, when she chose to retire, in order to raise their children. Boris Demidovich had three sisters, Zinaida, Evgeniia, Zoya and a younger brother, Paul.
After graduating in 1923 Demidovich attended the physical-mathematical branch of the teaching faculty, that had been established in 1921, at the
Belorussian State University. He obtained his
degree
Degree may refer to:
As a unit of measurement
* Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement
** Degree of geographical latitude
** Degree of geographical longitude
* Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics
...
in 1927 and was recommended to the graduate school faculty of higher mathematics, but Demidovich did not consider that a possibility and went to work in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
instead.
Professional life
For four years, Demidovich served as professor of mathematics in secondary schools throughout the
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
and
Bryansk
Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population:
Geography Urban layout
The location of the settlement was originally ass ...
regions. After casually reading an advertisement in a local newspaper, he moved to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
and in 1931, taught in a graduate school of the Research Institute of Mathematics and Mechanics at Moscow State University. At the end of this short term, he obtained the teaching chair in the Transportation and Economic Institute NKPS, and taught there at the Department of Mathematics in 1932–33. In 1933, while retaining his teaching office at T.E.I. NKPS, Demidovich was even enlisted as senior member at the Bureau of Pilot Transport construction NKPS and worked there until 1934.
At the same time, in 1932, Demidovich became a post-graduate student at the Mathematical Institute, Moscow State University, after succeeding a competition. As a postgraduate, Demidovich began to work under the guidance of
Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov
Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov ( rus, Андре́й Никола́евич Колмого́ров, p=ɐnˈdrʲej nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ kəlmɐˈɡorəf, a=Ru-Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov.ogg, 25 April 1903 – 20 October 1987) was a Sovi ...
on the theory of
functions of a real variable.
[A. Pavlov, A. Pogromsky, N. van de Wouw, H. Nijmeijer, ]
Convergent dynamics: a tribute to Boris Pavlovich Demidovich
' (with a short biography) – Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, 2004 – page 5
Kolmogorov saw that Demidovich was interested in the problems of
differential equations
In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, an ...
, invited him to join him in studying the qualitative theory of ordinary differential equations under the direction of
Vyacheslav Stepanov
Vyacheslav Vassilievich Stepanov (Вячеслав Васильевич Степанов; 4 September 1889, Smolensk – 22 July 1950, Moscow) was a mathematician, specializing in analysis. He was from the Soviet Union.
Stepanov was the son of ...
. Supervising his activities, Stepanov identified himself as the scientific advisor of his younger colleague.
After his graduation, in 1935, Demidovich worked for one semester at the Department of Mathematics at the Institute for the leather industry. And, since February 1936, at the invitation of LA Tumarkin, he served as assistant chair of mathematical analysis of Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of Moscow State University. Until his death he remained a permanent staff member. In 1935 at the Moscow University, Demidovich discussed his PhD thesis, "On the existence of the integral invariant on a system of periodic orbits" and the following year, he was awarded the degree of Ph.D.
In 1938, Demidovich was granted the rank of assistant professor of mathematical analysis at Mehmat MSU. In 1963, VAK awarded him the degree of Doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, and in 1965, Demidovich was granted the rank of professor in the department of mathematical analysis at Mehmat MSU. In 1968, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of Russia awarded Demidovich the honorary title "Meritorious Scientist of the RSFSR".
Demidovich suddenly died on 23 April 1977 of acute cardiovascular insufficiency.
Scientific activity
Demidovich mainly worked in five areas:
* dynamical systems with integral invariants;
* periodic and quasi-periodic solutions of ordinary differential equations;
* correct and it is correct (on Demidovich) differential system;
* limited solutions of ordinary differential equations;
* sustainability of ordinary differential equations, in particular, the orbital stability of dynamical systems.
Along with scientific and educational activities in the MSU, BP Demidovich concurrently taught at several leading universities in Moscow (MVTU, NE Bauman, the Military Engineering Academy, F. E. Dzerzhinsky, etc.). His experience as a teacher is reflected in the books he wrote on mathematical analysis, that were translated into many foreign languages.
Demidovich was often invited in Organizing Committees of scientific conferences and he actively cooperated with the editorial staff of various mathematical journal ("Differential Equations", RJ "Mathematics"), as well as the mathematical formulation of "BSE".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demidovich, Boris
1906 births
1977 deaths
Soviet mathematicians
Academic staff of Moscow State University