Grigory Nikolayevich Vyrubov, or Grégoire Wyrouboff (Russian: Григорий Николаевич Вырубов; 31 October 1843, in

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 ...

– 30 November 1913, in Paris) was a Russian Empire Positivist philosopher and historian of science.

History

Born in

, Vyrubov was brought up in Italy and France before studying medicine and natural philosophy at 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 ...

. Heavily influenced by Edmond Nikolayevich Pommier, Vyrubov founded the Positivist journal ''Philosophie positive'' with

Emile Littré Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

in 1867: he edited the journal until 1881. He befriended

Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...

, and edited anonymously the first edition of Herzen's works (10 vols, 1875–79). In 1896 Vyrubov criticized

Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...

's notion and statement of a

periodic law Periodic trends are specific patterns that are present in the periodic table that illustrate different aspects of a certain element. They were discovered by the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev in the year 1863. Major periodic trends include atom ...

, i.e., "all the properties of bodies are periodic functions of their

atomic weights Relative atomic mass (symbol: ''A''; sometimes abbreviated RAM or r.a.m.), also known by the deprecated synonym atomic weight, is a dimensionless physical quantity A physical quantity is a physical property of a material or system that can be ...

," citing the inversion of

tellurium Tellurium is a chemical element with the symbol Te and atomic number 52. It is a brittle, mildly toxic, rare, silver-white metalloid. Tellurium is chemically related to selenium and sulfur, all three of which are chalcogens. It is occasionally fou ...

and

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

, which breaks the order of monotonically increasing atomic weights. He went so far as to say "I think that it is time to show clearly that there is nothing erewhich merits the name of law or system." Rethinking periodicity in terms of

atomic number The atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol ''Z'') of a chemical element is the charge number of an atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei, this is equal to the proton number (''n''p) or the number of protons found in the nucleus of every ...

eliminates the problem, and the criticism was beside the point, since the notion of a periodic law had already saturated the field of chemistry.Michael D. Gordin (2004) ''A Well-Ordered Thing: Dimitrii Mendeleev and the Shadow of the Periodic Table''. Basic Books, New York. citing G. Wyrouboff, "On the Periodic Classification of the Elements" ''Chemical News'' 74 (1896) Although he had never trained as a historian of science, in 1903 he was elected as

Pierre Laffitte Pierre Laffitte (21 February 1823 – 4 January 1903) was a French positivist philosopher. Laffitte was born at Béguey, Gironde. Residing at Paris as a teacher of mathematics, he became a disciple of Auguste Comte, who appointed him his litera ...

's successor to the chair of history of science at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...

, and held the chair until his death. Vyrubov was an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He was initiated into freemasonry on 7 January 1874 in Paris. He was initially a member of the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

, but came into conflict with the

Grand Lodge of France Grande Loge de France (G∴L∴D∴F∴) is a Masonic obedience based in France. Its conception of Freemasonry is spiritual, traditional and initiatory. Its ritual is centred on the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It sees itself as occupying a ...

and switched to the

Grand Orient of France The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbed the r ...

(

French Rite The French Rite is a Rite of Freemasonry that was founded in France, in 1786. History The French Rite is intimately linked to the birth of Freemasonry in France and was founded in France in 1786. British exiles brought the Modern rite to France ...

). He was the "Worshipful Master" of a lodge of Russian emigrants known as the "Rose of the Perfect Silence."

History

References

Further reading