Nikolai Alekseevich Severtzov (5 November 1827 – 8 February 1885) was a Russian

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 ...

and naturalist. Severtzov studied at the Moscow University and at the age of eighteen he came into contact with G. S. Karelin and took an interest in central Asia. In 1857, he joined a mission to Syr-Darya. On the expedition to the

Syr Darya The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...

, he was captured by bandits and freed after a month. In 1865–68, he explored the

Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

mountains and Lake

Issyk Kul Issyk-Kul (also Ysyk-Köl, ky, Ысык-Көл, lit=warm lake, translit=Ysyk-Köl, , zh, 伊塞克湖) is an endorheic lake (i.e., without outflow) in the Northern Tian Shan mountains in Eastern Kyrgyzstan. It is the seventh-deepest lake in th ...

. In 1877–78, he explored the

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 ...

, following a route close to the current

Pamir Highway The M41, known informally and more commonly as the Pamir Highway (russian: Памирский тракт, translit=Pamirsky Trakt ), is a road traversing the Pamir Mountains through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan with a ...

as far as Lake Yashil Kul on the Ghunt River. Severtzov wrote the ''Vertical and Horizontal Distribution of

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 ...

Wildlife'' (1873), which included the first description of a number of animals. Among them is a subspecies of

argali The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild sheep that roams the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. Description The name 'argali' is the Mongolian word for wild sheep. I ...

(wild sheep) later named after him: ''Ovis ammon severtzovi''. He also described many new species and subspecies of birds. The Spotted Great Rosefinch ''Carpodacus severtzovi'' is among those named after him. Severtzov began to assemble a collection of birds in the estate of Petrovskoe. On 8 February 1885, he was returning home in a carriage along the frozen Ikorts river that feeds into the Don. The carriage broke the ice and plunged. While everyone extricated themselves and attempted to find a warm place nearby, he delayed by searching for his portfolio and collapsed. His driver froze to death. The Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

in Moscow is named after his son Alexey Severtzov.

References

1827 births 1885 deaths Explorers from the Russian Empire Russian ornithologists Explorers of Central Asia {{Explorer-stub