Otto Yulyevich Shmidt (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

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, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

, and

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Biography

He was born in the town of

Mogilev Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, in what is now

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. His father was a descendant of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

settlers in

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

, while his mother was a Latvian. In 1912 and 1913, while in university, he published a number of mathematical works on

group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as group (mathematics), groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as ring (mathematics), rings, field ( ...

which laid foundation for Krull–Schmidt theorem. In 1913, Schmidt married Vera Yanitskaia and graduated from the Saint Vladimir Imperial University of Kiev, where he worked as a

privat-docent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...

starting from 1916. In 1918 he became a member of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (internationallists) which was later dissolved in to the Russian Communist Party. After the October Revolution of 1917, he was a board member at several

People's Commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English language, English transliteration of the Russian language, Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the pol ...

iats ( narkomats)such as Narkomprod from 1918 to 1920 (''Narodnyi Komissariat Prodovolstviya'', or People's Commissariat for Supplies), People's Commissariat for Finance from 1921 to 1922 (''Narodnyi Komissariat Finansov'', or People's Commissariat for Finances). Schmidt was one of the chief proponents of developing the higher education system, publishing, and science in

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

. He worked at '' Narkompros'' (People's Commissariat for Education), the State Scientific Board at the

Council of People's Commissars The Council of People's Commissars (CPC) (), commonly known as the ''Sovnarkom'' (), were the highest executive (government), executive authorities of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the Soviet Union (USSR), and the Sovi ...

of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and the Communist Academy. He was Chair of the Foreign Literature Committee from October 1921. Following the Litkens Commission Schmidt was also employed as the director of the State Publishing House (

Gosizdat State Publishing House of the RSFSR (Russian: Госуда́рственное изда́тельство РСФСР), also known as Gosizdat (Госиздат), was a publishing house founded in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on ...

) from 1921 to 1924, and chief editor of the ''

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

'' from 1924 to 1941. From 1923 he was a professor at the Second Moscow State University and later at the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, and from 1930 to 1932, Schmidt was the head of the Arctic Institute. During this time he coined the term for the

double bond rule In chemistry, the double bond rule states that elements with a principal quantum number (''n'') greater than 2 for their valence electrons ( period 3 elements and higher) tend not to form multiple bonds (e.g. double bonds and triple bonds). Do ...

that relates to allylic and similar systems. From 1932 to 1939, he was appointed head of Glavsevmorput' (''Glavnoe upravlenie Severnogo Morskogo Puti'') – an establishment that oversaw all commercial operations on the

Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (, shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route about long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. Ad ...

. From 1939 to 1942, Schmidt became a

vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, where he organized the Institute of Theoretical Geophysics (he was its director until 1949). Otto Schmidt was a founder of the Moscow Algebra School, which he directed for many years. In the mid-1940s, Schmidt suggested a new cosmogonical

hypothesis A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess o ...

on the formation of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

and other

planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...

s of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

, which he continued to develop together with a group of Soviet scientists until his death.

Arctic

Schmidt was an explorer of the Arctic. In 1929 and 1930, he led expeditions on the

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

'' Georgy Sedov'', establishing the first scientific research station on the

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...

, exploring the northwestern parts of the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...

and western coasts of

Severnaya Zemlya Severnaya Zemlya (, ) is a archipelago in the Russian high Arctic. It lies off Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula, separated from the mainland by the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago separates two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Kara Sea i ...

, and discovering a few islands. In 1932, Schmidt's expedition on the steam icebreaker '' Sibiryakov'' with Captain Vladimir Voronin made a non-stop voyage from

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

without wintering for the first time in history. From 1933 to 1934, Schmidt led the voyage of the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

'' Cheliuskin'', also with Captain Vladimir Voronin, along the Northern Sea Route. In 1937, he supervised an airborne expedition that established a drift-ice station " North Pole-1". In 1938, he was in charge of evacuating its personnel from the ice. Otto Schmidt was a member of the

Central Executive Committee of the USSR The Central Executive Committee of the USSR (), which may be abbreviated as the CEC (), was the supreme governing body of the USSR in between sessions of the All-Union Congress of Soviets from 1922 to 1938. The Central Executive Committee elec ...

and a deputy of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the S ...

of the first

convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a specia ...

(1938–1946).

Legacy

The authorities awarded Otto Schmidt three

Orders of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

, three other orders and many medals.

Schmidt Island Schmidt Island () is one of the islands of the Severnaya Zemlya group in the Russian Arctic. It was named after Soviet scientist and first head of the Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route, Otto Schmidt. Located at the far northwestern end ...

in the

Cape Schmidt Cape Schmidt (; ''Mys Shmidta'' or Мыс Отто Шмидта; ''Mys Otto Shmidta''; Chukchi: Ир-Каппея; ''Ir-Kappeya''), formerly known as Cape North, is a headland in the Chukchi Sea, part of Iultinsky District of the Chukotka Autono ...

on the coastline of the

Chukchi Sea The Chukchi Sea (, ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west by the Long Strait, off Wrangel Island, and in the east by Point Barrow, Alaska, ...

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka ( ; ), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an Autonomous okrugs of Russia, autonomous okrug situated in the Russian Far East, and shares a border wi ...

, as well as the Institute of Earth Physics at the

Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

, among other places, bear Schmidt's name. A

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

, 2108 Otto Schmidtdiscovered in 1948 by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

astronomer Pelageya Shajncommemorates him. The Soviet research vessel ''Otto Schmidt'' was named after him in 1979.

Honours and awards

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

, three times *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

, twice *

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

Notes

References

Sources

*Aleksey E. Levin, Stephen G. Brush ''The Origin of the Solar System: Soviet Research 1925–1991''. AIP Press, 1995. *Brontman, L.K. ''On top of the world: the Soviet expedition to the North pole, 1937–1938'', New York, 1938. * McCannon, John. ''Red Arctic: Polar Exploration and the Myth of the North in the Soviet Union, 1932–1939''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. * ''Otto Iul'evich Shmidt: Zhizn' i deiatel'nost. Moscow: Nauka, 1959.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Otto 1891 births 1956 deaths People from Mogilev People from Mogilyovsky Uyezd (Mogilev Governorate) People of Baltic German descent Belarusian people of German descent Belarusian people of Latvian descent Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (of Internationalists) members Communist Party of the Soviet Union members First convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Belarusian encyclopedists Soviet polar explorers Belarusian explorers Severnaya Zemlya Soviet astronomers Soviet mathematicians Belarusian astronomers 20th-century Belarusian mathematicians Soviet geophysicists Franz Josef Land Kara Sea Laptev Sea Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Academic staff of Moscow State University Academic staff of Moscow State Pedagogical University Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of Lenin