Russian Zoologist and Writer. Born into a noble family, he attended Kazan University where, in 1848, he debuted as a published author with two articles on beetles in Russkaya Illyustratsia. In 1852 he started lecturing at Kazan, which he became the professor of zoology of in 1860 and later edited the university's magazine. In 1863 he was awarded that year's Demidov Prize for his treatise "Spontaneous Reproduction among the Larvae of Insects". His discovery of paedogenesis with gall gnats initially was met with disbelief at home and abroad, but soon won him universal acclaim in the scientific world. In 1869 he won the Bordin Prize from the French Academy of Sciences and was elected the Honorable Member of the Siberian University. In 1872, he made his mark as an author of popular books for children, the most successful of which, "Skazki kota Murlyki" (Cat Purr's Fairytales), a collection of twenty-five finely written mystical and philosophical fables and stories. Up until 1894 he lectured at Saint Petersburg University and served as a professor there from 1870 until 1885. He founded the biological station at the Solovetsky Islands on the White Sea and remained its director up until his death from paralytic dementia at the age of 77.
Russian Zoologist and Writer. Born into a noble family, he attended Kazan University where, in 1848, he debuted as a published author with two articles on beetles in Russkaya Illyustratsia. In 1852 he started lecturing at Kazan, which he became the professor of zoology of in 1860 and later edited the university's magazine. In 1863 he was awarded that year's Demidov Prize for his treatise "Spontaneous Reproduction among the Larvae of Insects". His discovery of paedogenesis with gall gnats initially was met with disbelief at home and abroad, but soon won him universal acclaim in the scientific world. In 1869 he won the Bordin Prize from the French Academy of Sciences and was elected the Honorable Member of the Siberian University. In 1872, he made his mark as an author of popular books for children, the most successful of which, "Skazki kota Murlyki" (Cat Purr's Fairytales), a collection of twenty-five finely written mystical and philosophical fables and stories. Up until 1894 he lectured at Saint Petersburg University and served as a professor there from 1870 until 1885. He founded the biological station at the Solovetsky Islands on the White Sea and remained its director up until his death from paralytic dementia at the age of 77.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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