Lev Sergeevich Termen - Soviet inventor, electrical engineer and musician. The creator of the theremin - an electric musical instrument.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Lev Termen, which we will tell about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Lev Termen.
Biography of Lev Termen
Lev Theremin was born on August 15 (28), 1896 in St. Petersburg. He grew up and was brought up in the family of the famous lawyer Sergei Emilievich and his wife Yevgenia Antonovna.
The Theremin family belonged to a noble family with French roots.
Childhood and youth
Since childhood, parents have tried to instill in Leo a love of music and various sciences. At that moment in his biography, the boy was studying to play the cello.
It is curious that there was a physics laboratory in the Theremin apartment, and after some time a small observatory appeared in the dwelling.
Over time, Lev began his studies at the local male gymnasium, where he received high marks in all disciplines. Already in primary school, he showed a keen interest in physics. As a 4th grade student, he easily demonstrated "Tesla-type resonance."
At the age of 18, Lev Theremin graduated from high school with a silver medal.
In 1916 the young man graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, cello class. At the same time, he studied at the Petrograd University at the Department of Physics and Mathematics.
In the second year of study at the university, Lev was called to service. The October Revolution of 1917 found him in the rank of junior officer of the reserve electrical engineering battalion.
After the revolution, Theremin was assigned to the Moscow military radio laboratory.
Scientific activity
At the age of 23, Lev took the position of head of the laboratory of the Physico-Technical Institute in Petrograd. He was engaged in measurements of the dielectric constant of gases at different pressures and temperatures.
In 1920, a significant event took place in the biography of Lev Termen, which will bring him great fame in the future. The young inventor designed the Thereminvox, an electric musical instrument.
A couple of years later, the theremin and other inventions of Lev Sergeevich were presented at an exhibition in the Kremlin.
An interesting fact is that when Lenin got acquainted with the principle of operation of a power tool, he tried to play Glinka's "Skylark" on it.
Lev Theremin is the author of many devices, including various automatic systems, alarms and a television system - "Far Vision".
In 1927, the Russian scientist was invited to an international music exhibition in Germany. His achievements aroused great interest and soon brought him worldwide recognition.
After that Termin was literally bombarded with invitations to perform in various European cities. Theremin was called "the music of etheric waves", affecting all areas of space.
The instrument amazed listeners with its timbre, which at the same time resembled wind, strings and even human sounds.
American period
In 1928, Lev Theremin went to America, where he soon received patents for the theremin and the author's security alarm system. He sold the rights to make power tools to RCA.
Later, the inventor founded the Teletouch and Theremin Studio companies, renting a 6-storey building located in New York. This allowed the creation of Soviet trade missions in the United States, where Russian intelligence officers could work.
During the biography of 1931-1938. Theremin developed alarm systems for Sing Sing and Alcatraz prisons.
The fame of the Russian genius spread throughout America. Many celebrities were eager to get to know him, including Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein. In addition, he was closely acquainted with billionaire John Rockefeller and future American President Dwight Eisenhower.
Repression and work for the KGB
In 1938 Lev Termen was recalled to the USSR. Less than a year later, he was arrested, forced to confess that he was allegedly involved in the murder of Sergei Kirov.
As a result, Termen was sentenced to 8 years in camps in gold mines. Initially, he served time in Magadan, performing the duties of a construction superintendent.
Soon, the mind and rationalization ideas of Lev Sergeevich attracted the attention of the camp administration, which decided to send the prisoner to the Tupolev design bureau TsKB-29.
Theremin worked here for about 8 years. An interesting fact is that his assistant was Sergei Korolev himself, who in the future will become a famous inventor of space technology.
At that time, biographies Theremin and Korolev were working on the development of radio-controlled drones.
Lev Sergeevich is the author of the innovative eavesdropping system "Buran", which reads information by means of the reflected infrared ray of vibration of glass in the windows of the listening room.
In addition, the scientist invented another eavesdropping system - the Zlatoust endovibrator. It did not need power, since it was based on the principle of high-frequency resonance.
An interesting fact is that "Zlatoust" has successfully worked in the cabinet of American ambassadors for 7 years. The device was mounted in a wooden panel that hung on one of the walls of the embassy.
The endovirator was discovered only in 1952, while the Americans for several more years could not figure out how it worked.
In 1947, the engineer was rehabilitated, but he continued to work in closed projects under the direction of the NKVD.
Further years
During the biography of 1964-1967. Lev Termen worked in the laboratory of the Moscow Conservatory, inventing new power tools.
Once, the American music critic Harold Schonberg, who came to the conservatory, saw Theremin there.
Upon arrival in the United States, the critic told reporters about a meeting with a Russian inventor who held a rather mediocre position. Soon, this news appeared on the pages of The New York Times, which caused a storm of indignation among the Soviet leadership.
As a result, the scientist's studio was closed, and all his tools were destroyed with axes.
At the cost of tremendous effort, Theremin managed to get a job in a laboratory at Moscow State University. There he gave lectures, and also demonstrated his theremin game to the public.
During this period, Lev Sergeevich continued to secretly conduct scientific research.
In March 1991, the 95-year-old scientist announced his desire to join the CPSU. He explained this with the following phrase: "I promised Lenin."
The following year, a group of intruders destroyed Theremin's laboratory, destroying all of his tools and stealing part of the blueprints. It is worth noting that the police never managed to track the criminals.
Personal life
Theremin's first wife was a girl named Ekaterina Konstantinovna. In this marriage, the couple never had children.
After that, Lev Sergeevich married Lavinia Williams, who worked as a dancer in a Negro ballet. In this union, not a single child was born either.
The third wife of the inventor was Maria Gushchina, who gave birth to her husband 2 girls - Natalia and Elena.
Death
Lev Sergeevich Termen died on November 3, 1993 at the age of 97. Until the end of his life, he remained energetic and even joked that he was immortal.
To prove this, the scientist suggested reading his surname the other way around: "Theremin does not die."
Photo by Lev Termen
