Nikolay Ivanovich Lobachevsky (1792-1856) - Russian mathematician, one of the founders of non-Euclidean geometry, a figure in university education and public education. Master of Science in Science.
For 40 years he taught at the Imperial Kazan University, including 19 years as its rector.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Lobachevsky, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Nikolai Lobachevsky.
Biography of Lobachevsky
Nikolai Lobachevsky was born on November 20 (December 1), 1792 in Nizhny Novgorod. He grew up and was brought up in the family of an official, Ivan Maksimovich, and his wife, Praskovya Alexandrovna.
In addition to Nicholas, two more sons were born in the Lobachevsky family - Alexander and Alexey.
Childhood and youth
Nikolai Lobachevsky lost his father in early childhood, when he died of a serious illness at the age of 40.
As a result, the mother had to raise and support three children alone. In 1802, the woman sent all her sons to the Kazan gymnasium for "state raznochinsky maintenance."
Nikolai received high marks in all disciplines. He was especially good at exact sciences, as well as the study of foreign languages.
It was during that period of his biography that Lobachevsky began to show a great interest in mathematics.
After graduating from high school, Nikolai continued his studies at Kazan University. In addition to physical and mathematical sciences, the student was fond of chemistry and pharmacology.
Although Lobachevsky was considered a very diligent student, he sometimes indulged in various pranks. There is a known case when he, along with his comrades, was put in a punishment cell for launching a homemade rocket.
In the last year of his studies, they even wanted to expel Nikolai from the university for "disobedience, outrageous acts and signs of godlessness."
Nevertheless, Lobachevsky was still able to graduate with honors from the university and receive a master's degree in physics and mathematics. The talented student was left at the university, however, they demanded complete obedience from him.
Scientific and pedagogical activity
In the summer of 1811, Nikolai Lobachevsky, together with a colleague, observed the comet. As a result, a few months later he presented his reasoning, which he called - "The theory of elliptical motion of celestial bodies."
A couple of years later, Lobachevsky begins to teach students arithmetic and geometry. In 1814 he was promoted to an adjunct in pure mathematics, and two years later he became an extraordinary professor.
Thanks to this, Nikolai Ivanovich was able to teach more algebra and trigonometry. By that time, he managed to show outstanding organizational skills, as a result of which Lobachevsky was appointed dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics.
Using great authority among colleagues and students, the mathematician began to criticize the educational system at the university. He was negative about the fact that the exact sciences were relegated to the background, and the main attention was focused on theology.
During that period of his biography, Nikolai Lobachevsky created an original textbook on geometry, in which he used the metric system. In addition, in the book, the author made a departure from the Euclidean canon. Censors criticized the book, banning it from publication.
When Nicholas I came to power, he removed Mikhail Magnitsky from the post of trustee of the university, putting in his place Mikhail Musin-Pushkin. The latter was notable for his rigidity, but at the same time he was a just and moderately religious person.
In 1827, in a secret ballot, Lobachevsky was elected rector of the university. Musin-Pushkin treated mathematician with respect, trying not to interfere with his work and the teaching system.
In his new position, Nikolai Lobachevsky carried out a number of reforms in various areas. He ordered to reorganize the staff, built educational buildings, and also equipped laboratories, observatories and replenished the library.
An interesting fact is that Lobachevsky did a lot with his own hands, taking on any work. As rector, he taught geometry, algebra, probability theory, mechanics, physics, astronomy and other sciences.
A man could easily replace almost any teacher, if that was not for one reason or another.
At this time of biography, Lobachevsky continued to actively work on non-Euclidean geometry, which aroused his greatest interest.
Soon, the mathematician completed the first draft of his new theory, giving a speech "A Concise Exposition of the Principles of Geometry." In the early 1830s, his work on non-Euclidean geometry was heavily criticized.
This led to the fact that Lobachevsky's authority was shaken in the eyes of his colleagues and students. Nevertheless, in 1833 he was elected rector of the university for the third time.
In 1834, on the initiative of Nikolai Ivanovich, the journal "Scientific Notes of Kazan University" began to be published, in which he published his new works.
However, all the St. Petersburg professors still had a negative attitude towards the works of Lobachevsky. This led to the fact that he was never able to defend his thesis.
It is worth noting that Musin-Pushkin provided support to the rector, as a result of which the pressure on him decreased somewhat.
When the emperor visited the university in 1836, he was satisfied with the state of affairs, as a result of which he awarded Lobachevsky the honorary order of Anna, 2nd degree. An interesting fact is that this order allowed a man to receive hereditary nobility.
After two years, Nikolai Ivanovich was granted the nobility and was given a coat of arms with the wording - "for services in the service and in science."
Lobachevsky headed Kazan University during his biography from 1827 to 1846. Under his skillful leadership, the educational institution has become one of the best and best equipped in Russia.
Personal life
In 1832 Lobachevsky married a girl named Varvara Alekseevna. It is curious that the chosen one of the mathematician was 20 years younger than him.
Biographers are still arguing about the true number of children born in the Lobachevsky family. According to the track record, 7 children survived.
Last years and death
In 1846, the Ministry removed Lobachevsky from the post of rector, after which Ivan Simonov was appointed the new head of the university.
After that, a black streak came in the biography of Nikolai Ivanovich. He was so badly ruined that he was forced to sell his wife's house and estate. Soon his first-born Alexei died of tuberculosis.
Shortly before his death, Lobachevsky began to get sick more often and poorly see. A year before his death, he published his last work "Pangeometry", recorded under the dictation of his followers.
Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky died on February 12 (24), 1856, without receiving recognition from his colleagues. At the time of his death, his contemporaries could not understand the fundamental ideas of the genius.
In about 10 years, the world scientific community will appreciate the work of the Russian mathematician. His writings will be translated into all major European languages.
The studies of Eugenio Beltrami, Felix Klein and Henri Poincaré played an important role in the recognition of Nikolai Lobachevsky's ideas. They proved in practice that Lobachevsky's geometry is not contradictory.
When the scientific world realized that there was an alternative to Euclidean geometry, this led to the emergence of unique theories in mathematics and physics.
