Alexander Butlerov, the creator of the theory of chemical structure, is a bright representative of the Kazan School of Chemistry, one of the most remarkable Russian scientists.

The great scientist is remembered in Kazan. In 1978, in the year of the 150th anniversary of Butlerov's birth, a visiting session of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was held in Kazan, and a monument to A.M. Butlerov was unveiled near the university. In 1993, a memorial plaque was opened in the homeland of A.M. Butlerov in the city of Chistopol.

Since 1979 in The Kazan School of Chemistry hosts the Butlerov Readings, where the leading chemists of the country give overview lectures on topical issues of organic chemistry and are awarded Butlerov medals and an honorary diploma.

In 2003, in honor of the 175th anniversary of the birth of A.M. Butlerov and at the same time the 100th anniversary of the birth of B.A. Arbuzov, XVIIMendeleev Congress.

On October 17, 2007, a solemn meeting dedicated to the 180th anniversary of A.M. Butlerov took place at KSU.

“There were two stars in the chemical horizon of the nineteenth century: Dmitri Mendeleev and Alexander Butlerov. The creator of the theory of chemical structure, a prominent representative of the Kazan School of Chemistry, Butlerov, one of the most remarkable Russian scientists, - says Alexander Konovalov, Advisor to the Kazan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan Alexander Konovalov. - In 2008, the Butlerov Gold Medal was established, awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences for outstanding work in the field of organic chemistry. We hope that in this way the modern chemistry school will continue the established traditions.”

Alexander Butlerov occupies a special place among the famous graduates of Kazan University. The Museum of the Kazan School of Chemistry houses the Butlerov auditorium and an office, and a memorial plaque has been installed on the building of the old chemical laboratory. The Chemical Institute of KSU and one of the central streets of the city bear his name.

Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov was born into a noble family on September 3 (15), 1828 in the village of Butlerovka, Spassky district, Kazan province. His mother, Sofya Aleksandrovna Butlerova, nee Strelkova, died on the 11th day after the birth of her only son. Father Mikhail Vasilyevich Butlerov served in the army, was a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and, after his retirement, lived permanently in Butlerovka, part of which, together with a hundred souls of serfs, belonged to him by inheritance.

Mikhail Vasilievich loved to read himself and passed this love of reading on to his son. There were clavichords in the house and the boy willingly studied music. Throughout his life he retained a love for music, he understood it very subtly and played the piano well himself. Work was respected in the house, and the owner himself showed everyone an example of diligence. In his estate there was an orchard, an apiary. Having some medical knowledge and skills, he treated the residents of Butlerovka and the surrounding villages who turned to him free of charge.

M.V. Butlerov often made long walks with his grown-up son through the forest, along the Kama, hunted, fished. There was a simple friendship between father and son. Character traits, habits and many inclinations of the father - respect for work, love for native nature - were transferred to his son Alexander.

The father sought to develop his son not only mentally, but also physically. Physical culture was in high esteem in the Butlerovs' house. Sasha grew strong, was a good shooter and hunter, an excellent rider and swimmer. Subsequently, when he became an adult, he would, without finding his friends at home, take an iron poker from them in their house and leave it instead of a business card bent in the shape of the letter B.

Warmly loving his son, Mikhail Vasilyevich did not indulge him, but taught him to work systematically and to be independent in his studies. “No tutors, get to everything on your own, make your own way in life!” - these were the principles of the retired lieutenant colonel.

Alexander Butlerov received his initial education in Kazan in the private boarding school Topornina. In studies, he was distinguished by great abilities and organization. He had an excellent memory by nature, which he also developed by memorizing the poems of Pushkin and other Russian poets, as well as by studying foreign languages. He was fluent in French and German, reading works of Western literature in the original.

The physics teacher at the boarding school, apparently, managed to interest the inquisitive boy in his science and introduced him to the beginnings of chemistry. A tiny, always locked locker appeared near Butlerov’s bed, in which he kept his bottles and “chemicals”, which he diligently fiddled with in his free time. It all ended with a deafening explosion and an unprecedented punishment. In the common dining room, where the other boys were sitting, the servants led several times from the dark punishment cell the delinquent with a black board on his chest. On the board, in large white letters, was written "The Great Chemist." Of course, no one thought then that this mocking inscription would turn out to be prophetic.

After the boarding school, his father assigned Alexander to the sixth grade of the 1st Kazan Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1844.

A.M. Butlerov was only 16 years old. He spent the summer, as usual, in his village. Mikhail Vasilievich wanted his son to enter the mathematical department of the university, believing that he had great mathematical abilities, but Alexander chose to become a naturalist, to study nature and the natural sciences. In the autumn of 1844, Alexander Butlerov entered Kazan University as an unapproved student, i.e. he was allowed to listen to lectures without the right to take exams. Only in February 1845 he was enrolled as a first-year student in the category of mathematical sciences, with subsequent transfer to the category of natural sciences.

N.P. Wagner - classmate and friend of A.M. Butlerov - left his literary portrait. Here are the main features of his appearance: “Butlerov was rather tall and strongly built sanguine ..., a handsome man, blond with blue, slightly narrowed eyes, a rather long, somewhat reddish nose, with a prominent chin and with a constantly friendly smile on ruddy thin lips. And here is what was said about the character of Butlerov the student: “Butlerov was more restrained ... much more seriously (of other students). At that time, an attraction to serious studies was already visible in the warehouse of his mind.

In the first years of his stay at the university, the young student was engaged in botany, zoology, chemistry and other natural sciences with the same enthusiasm and zeal, took part in numerous expeditions both in the vicinity of Kazan and far beyond its borders. In one of the expeditions in the summer of 1846, Butlerov fell ill with typhoid fever. Professor of zoology P.I. Vagner, the leader of the expedition, brought him to Simbirsk and informed his son Mikhail Vasilyevich about the illness. Father immediately came to Simbirsk. While caring for a sick son, he himself contracted typhus, with difficulty reached Butlerovka, where he fell ill with a very high temperature and soon died. Alexander Mikhailovich, extremely exhausted from a serious illness he had just suffered, was so shocked and dejected by the death of his friend-father that those around him feared for the state of his mental abilities. For a long time he could not continue his university studies. Fortunately, the hardened nature of the young Butlerov overcame this grief. After all that had happened, his studies in botany and zoology, although they continued, were no longer with such zeal. Butlerov became more and more attracted to chemistry.

Fortunately for Russian science, Butlerov found outstanding teachers at Kazan University who passionately loved chemistry and managed to interest and captivate young students with this science. A huge influence on Butlerov and his deep and serious passion for chemistry, which previously attracted him only by the external effects of experiments, was exerted by the outstanding professors of Kazan University Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin, the author of the method of converting aromatic nitro compounds into amino compounds (obtaining synthetic aniline) and Karl Karlovich Klaus, who discovered new chemical element ruthenium.

In his first years at the university, Butlerov listened to lectures on inorganic chemistry, which were read by K.K. Klaus.

The first task that student Butlerov received from Klaus was the preparation of antimony derivatives. But the young scientist felt a great inclination towards organic chemistry, which at that time was already developing rapidly, representing a vast field for laboratory research. Therefore, the inquisitive student began to use the advice of N.N. Zinin more and more. However, Zinin read organic chemistry in those years not in the natural, but in the mathematical department. “We, naturalists,” Butlerov recalled, “in order to listen to N.N. Zinin, we had to go to lectures of someone else’s category. His lectures enjoyed a high-profile reputation, and indeed, anyone who heard him as a professor or as a scientist making a report on his research knows what a wonderful lecturer Zinin was: ... N.N. drew attention to me and soon introduced me to the course of his work and to the various bodies of the benzoic and naphthalene series with which he had worked before ... With these various experiments, the student had, willy-nilly, to get acquainted with various departments of organic chemistry. ... You didn't have to be diligent when you worked together and at the same time with the professor! So our mentors were able - and N.N. in particular - to arouse and maintain scientific interest in students.

Probably, after Zinin's transfer to the St. Petersburg Medical and Surgical Academy, Butlerov began to study biology more, and this was one of the reasons that he submitted the work "Daytime butterflies of the Volga-Ural fauna" as a candidate's thesis at the end of the university (1849).

After A.M. Butlerov defended his Ph.D. thesis, at the suggestion of Professor Klaus, he was left at the university to prepare for a professorship. Butlerov's teachers were sure that he "with his knowledge, talent, love for science and chemical research will honor the university and earn fame in the scientific world."

Butlerov is full of energy and vigorous activity. During the 1850/51 academic year, he lectured on inorganic chemistry to first-year students of the mathematical, natural and cameral categories, as well as on physics and physical geography with climatology to students of the medical faculty. At the end of the academic year, the University Council noted that Candidate Butlerov fulfilled the assignment assigned to him "with knowledge of the matter and with excellent diligence", that he showed "both his scientific knowledge and pedagogical abilities", and declared his gratitude to Butlerov.

Loaded with lecture work, he also found time to prepare for the master's exam, which was passed on October 28, 1850, and three months later he submitted his master's thesis "On the Oxidation of Organic Compounds." As the author himself wrote, the dissertation was "a collection of all hitherto known facts of the oxidation of organic bodies and the experience of their systematization", and was not the result of an experimental study. In Butlerov's own words, at that time he "remained no more than a good student, who had good knowledge of the facts, but was still completely devoid of scientific independence and a critical attitude to the subject."

The defense of the thesis took place on February 11 (23), 1851, and in March the University Council awarded A.M. Butlerov the title of associate professor of chemistry, officially appointing him K.K. However, at the beginning of 1852, Klaus was elected professor of pharmacy at Dorpat University, in April he transferred the chemical laboratory to Butlerov and, thus, the burden of teaching almost all of chemistry at Kazan University fell on the young adjunct.

At this time, a great event took place in Butlerov's personal life - he married Nadezhda Mikhailovna Glumilina, S.T. Aksakov's niece. After graduating from university, he, along with his mother's sisters, rented an apartment in a house that belonged to Aksakov's sister. There he met his future wife.

However, neither the events of family life, nor the heavy teaching load prevented Butlerov from preparing his doctoral dissertation, which was submitted to the Council of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics in early 1853. The dissertation "On Essential Oils" received different ratings from reviewers. Mineralogist P.I. Vagner and professor of chemistry and technology M.Ya. Butlerov's doctoral dissertation in its first version had the same literary and generalizing character as the master's. However, the material on essential oils itself was poorer and of less interest than the oxidation reactions of organic compounds. In addition, the coverage of the material was given as before from the standpoint of outdated theoretical concepts. Savelyev's objections mainly related to this point.

A. M. Butlerov, with the permission of the Council, took back his dissertation, deciding to defend it at Moscow University. Having received leave for this purpose, he went to Moscow in the fall of 1853, where he stayed until the beginning of 1854. Presenting his dissertation to Moscow University, Butlerov supplemented it by adding a presentation of the results of his own experimental studies of essential oil from one South Russian type of mint. In Moscow, he brilliantly passed his doctoral exam, defended his dissertation and was approved in the degree of Doctor of Physics and Chemistry on June 4, 1854.

Alexander Mikhailovich took advantage of his stay in Moscow to travel to St. Petersburg to see his beloved teacher N.N. Zinin. Arriving in St. Petersburg, Butlerov visited Zinin several times in his small laboratory at the Medico-Surgical Academy. Communication with Zinin was short-lived, but, according to Butlerov himself, it played a big role in the development of his scientific worldview.

In the spring of 1854 Butlerov returned to Kazan. After his approval in the academic degree, Doctors Professors of Kazan University E.A. Eversman and P.I. Wagner made a proposal to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics to confer on the new Doctor of Chemistry the title of Extraordinary Professor. This election took place in the University Council on September 25, 1854, and in the spring of 1857 Butlerov was elected an ordinary professor.

Butlerov made three trips abroad for scientific purposes - in 1857/58, 1861, in 1867/68. Each of these trips, reflecting a certain stage in the scientific development of the great chemist, had different goals. During these trips, he wrote travel notes, in which he showed himself to be a master of artistic description. Working in Paris in the laboratory of Wurtz, Butlerov was the first to obtain methylene iodide, a substance that later served him as a source of a number of discoveries.

After visiting the best European laboratories, returning to Kazan, Butlerov began to reorganize the chemical laboratory of the university. The board of the university gave money for this. Even a small gas factory was built on the model of Wurtz's laboratory, supplying gas not only to the laboratory, but also to some audiences in the main building.

Alexander Butlerov's office at Kazan University

In the renovated laboratory, studies of the "methylene cycle" were continued. By acting on methylene iodide with various reagents, Butlerov isolated a substance that he called "dioxymethylene" (as it turned out upon detailed study, it was a polymer of formaldehyde), and ethylene. Thus, the possibility of polymerization of organic molecules was shown for the first time.

From dioxymethylene, Butlerov was the first to obtain a substance now known in medicine and in the production of phenol-formaldehyde resins - urotropin and a sugary substance, which he called "methylenenitane". It was the first synthetic sugary substance belonging to the class of carbohydrates, prepared from the simplest organic compound.

These works, in which Butlerov sought to study the reaction between substances in detail, without neglecting by-products, helped him understand that the difference between organic substances with an identical atomic composition depends on the bond orders of atoms in a molecule, knowledge of these orders will open up the possibility of predicting and synthesizing isomeric substances .

The courage and clarity of mind with which Butlerov approached the issue of predicting new organic compounds and isomers based on the theory of structure can only be compared with the scientific feat of D.I. Mendeleev, who predicted the existence and properties of unknown elements based on the periodic law.

In December 1859, A.M. Butlerov appealed to the University Council with a request to send him abroad in the summer of 1860 in order to exchange new thoughts and views with Western scientists. However, the business trip did not take place for a completely unexpected reason for everyone and Butlerov himself - he was appointed acting rector of the Imperial Kazan University.

The background to this appointment is as follows. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the student movement revived at Kazan University. It begins to acquire organized forms with a pronounced social position. The students opposed the system of investigation and espionage, which was carried out by the student inspection, demanded the renewal of teaching, sought the expulsion of incompetent professors from the university.

The authorities sought to suppress even the mildest forms of student aspirations for freedom of speech and expression of their preferences. According to a ministerial order, students of Kazan University were prohibited from "publicly expressing signs of approval ... or censure to their professors." Violators of this absurd order were threatened with expulsion from the university.

Kazan students responded to this ban with demonstrative applause at a lecture by the liberal-minded professor of Russian literature N.N. Bulich. After that, 18 students were expelled from the university. The trustee of the Kazan educational district, E.A. Gruber, was dismissed, and P.P. Vyazemsky, the son of the famous poet, friend of A.S. Pushkin, was appointed in his place.

The rector of the university, O.M. Kovalevsky, the first Russian Mongolian scholar, a great scientist and a bad "diplomat" could not find a line of behavior that would be acceptable for both students and old professors. He was fired from his post. In place of the rector, Vyazemsky introduced Butlerov, a young professor who was respected by both students and professors.

On February 4, 1860, Alexander P signed a decree on the appointment of A.M. Butlerov as acting rector.

The rectorship for Butlerov was a big burden. In a letter to the Minister of National Education, he wrote: “It is a sacred thing to be useful to the university to the best of my ability, but I confess that I do not feel enough courage in myself for complete selflessness. The main goal of my life has been and will be science.”

Six months later, Butlerov turned to the minister with a request to be dismissed from the post of rector. He motivated his request by the fact that the rectorship takes not only a lot of time from scientific studies, but also entails another irreparable loss - the inability to maintain the peace of mind necessary for doing science. According to Butlerov, taking university affairs to heart, the rector very often cannot help correct them: for example, he is unable to fill the staff of teachers, improve the material base of teaching and the financial situation of professors.

In the same letter to the Minister, Butlerov expresses his confidence that only fundamental changes can improve the situation of the universities. These transformations include:

• paying fees for listening to lectures not to the university, but to teachers. The possibility of a voluntary agreement between teachers and students would serve as a guarantee that they can be mutually satisfied with each other;
• an increase in the material well-being of universities and an increase in the salaries of teachers so as to ensure a comfortable existence even for family ones;
• return to the previous procedure for electing rectors by the Council;
• printing of all minutes of Soviet meetings.

Butlerov officially spoke with these proposals before the University Council and sent them to the ministry. All of them, although at first they met with opposition, were gradually implemented and enshrined in the Charter of 1863. To these proposals one should also add the project of the “University List” developed by A.M. Butlerov, N.P. Vagner and V.I. Grigorovich. This proposal was rejected by the Council, but then implemented in a different form in 1865 with the publication of the News of the Kazan University.

Butlerov wrote a draft response from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics to the ministry's request for the desirability of inviting foreign scientists to teach, in which he categorically opposed it. Together with I. Boltsani and A. Yanovich, he wrote comments on the draft charter “On the system of fees and the rules for attending lectures by students.” The authors advocate free competition for professors at the university and for the payment of lecture fees directly to the lecturer, and not to the university's cash desk.

Continuing the traditions of Lobachevsky and Klaus, Butlerov skillfully selected creatively gifted individuals who were left at the university "to prepare for a professorship." So, young scientists sent by him in 1862 abroad for improvement, upon their return, became outstanding figures of the university. Among them: mathematician Academician V.G. Imshenetsky, chemist V.V. Markovnikov, geologist N.A. Golovkinsky, physiologist N.O. Kovalevsky and others.

The period of Alexander Mikhailovich's rectorship was a turning point in the life of the medical faculty. It was then that the organization of the first experimental laboratories of the faculty - physiological and pharmacological - was completed. And most importantly, the teaching staff of the faculty was strengthened by leading scientists and professors, such as N.A. Vinogradov, K.A. Arnstein, N.O. Kovalevsky and others.

A. M. Butlerov owes many improvements to the chemical laboratory.

During Butlerov's rectorship, A.P. Shchapov, a professor who proved himself with progressive views, was elected to the department of Russian history. Shchapov was known as an active organizer of free Sunday schools for workers, peasants, artisans and their children.

Butlerov ardently supported the professors and students who worked in these schools. At that time, with his active assistance, pedagogical courses were organized at the university, and a library and a reading room were opened with them, teachers' congresses were convened. Actively worked at the university "non-monetary" evening courses for the raznochintsy intelligentsia and workers, at which Butlerov systematically lectured.

In 1861, Kazan University, headed by its rector A.M. Butlerov, strongly spoke out in favor of admitting women to universities.

Since the autumn of 1860, another wave of student protests began at Kazan University against backward, ignorant and simply bad teachers. Butlerov had his first unpleasant explanation with the students, who, after a very unsuccessful introductory lecture by the Master of Pharmacy F.H. Grahe, expressed their disapproval of him with a whistle. Grahe resigned. At the end of 1860, at the request of students, F.A. Struve, a professor of Roman literature, a very bad and boring lecturer, stopped lecturing. However, in January 1861 he resumed his lectures. The students asked the professor to give an answer to their wishes. Struve refused and began the lecture. There were whistles, screams and the lecture was disrupted. Alexander Mikhailovich severely reprimanded the students, pointing out mainly the rudeness and tactlessness of their behavior. Any harshness was so unusual for him that he condemned rudeness and bad manners in others quite sincerely. In his eyes, the students' tactlessness lowered their dignity. He did not touch upon the rights of the audience to express their opinion about the merits or demerits of the lecturer.

The reprimand of the beloved and respected professor was taken unusually sharply. The audience turned to him with a long letter. The students wrote that Butlerov's "reprimand", his reproach for rudeness and bad manners, hit them like a butt on the head, that they, of course, knew about other ways to express their wishes, but could not restrain their indignation at Struve's refusal to explain to them.

As a result of this story, two students who were expelled from the university by order of the minister suffered, and Professor Struve retired. A.M. Butlerov submitted a letter of resignation, but P.P. Vyazemsky persuaded him not to resign as rector and allowed him to travel abroad for the summer months. Butlerov willingly took the opportunity to fully engage in scientific research again, therefore, with a feeling of great relief, on May 3 (15), 1861, he temporarily transferred the position of rector to Professor of Financial Law E.G. Osokin and went on a six-month business trip abroad.

On his second trip, Butlerov visited many well-known laboratories in Germany, Belgium and France, but the most important event was a report at the 36th Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians, in which he outlined the main provisions of the theory of chemical structure.

In the summer, from abroad, Butlerov sends Vyazemsky a request for dismissal from the post of rector, but there was no answer. After returning from a business trip in October 1861, Butlerov again turns to the trustee with the same request, referring to the need to have time for teaching, working in the laboratory, and also for compiling business trip reports. At the same time, Butlerov asks for permission not to assume the position of rector until he receives an order from the ministry. One of the motives for this is the fact that, in his opinion, as a result of the orders that he, as rector, gave before, there is a hostile attitude towards him on the part of students and his entry into this position at a time when peace is required, may only damage the case. Butlerov was allowed not to take the post of rector, and in August 1862, by order of the Ministry of Public Education, he was fired from her.

In the autumn of 1862, under the pressure of public opinion, the ministry restored the election of the rector of the university. The election of the rector was coming up, in which, according to the situation, all ordinary professors had to run. Despite Butlerov's request to release him from running, he was not only included in the voting list, but was again elected on October 27, 1862 by a majority of votes (14 for, 8 against) as rector. The Ministry Order followed on November 19, 1862.

The second rectorship of A.M. Butlerov was short-lived. At this time, the struggle between professors within the university and clashes with F.F. Stender, the new trustee of the Kazan educational district, appointed after the resignation of P.P. Vyazemsky, intensified.

In the same period, a story happened at the Faculty of Medicine, which showed that the times were over when university chairs could be occupied by persons with dubious scientific and teaching merits.

A.M. Butlerov, who believed that “the course of the future life of the university is closely connected with the scientific and moral merits of its leaders,” resolutely opposed the candidacy of I.I. Zedershtedt, one of the most mediocre and ignorant teachers of the university, for the position of professor at the Faculty of Medicine.

Around the candidacy of I.I. Zederstedt, a struggle began between A.M. Butlerov and his supporters, on the one hand, and medical professors, on the other. The trustee of the Kazan educational district and the Minister of Education were drawn into the struggle. As a result, Zederstedt was approved as a professor without passing the competition. And Butlerov, taking advantage of his request for release from rector's duties, on June 25, 1863, by order of the ministry, was dismissed from the post of rector.

For Kazan University, Butlerov's resignation was a sad fact. Stender was replaced as trustee by P.D. Shestakov, a typical tsarist official, reactionary and monarchist. He managed to nullify the influence of a group of liberal professors, and put Butlerov himself in such conditions under which the departure of the great scientist from Kazan was only a matter of time and suitable conditions.

This whole story made a very difficult impression on A.M. Butlerov himself, and then, according to his relatives, he developed a heart disease that did not leave him until the end of his life. He tried to find a place outside Kazan, and only the urgent advice of his friends (and first of all M.Ya. Kittara), and, probably, family circumstances (in April 1864 his second son was born) prevented him from leaving Kazansky university. But chemistry only benefited from Butlerov's resignation - he got more opportunities and time to work on the theory of chemical structure, especially its experimental verification.

Butlerov's proposals for the repair and restructuring of the laboratory were accepted and implemented. A separate room was arranged for scientific research. Thus, by the beginning of the 1863/64 academic year, better conditions than before were created for scientific work in the chemical laboratory of Kazan University. In the 60s, three of his students worked for A.M. Butlerov, who later became famous scientists, professors, heads of laboratories at universities: A.M. Zaitsev - in Kazan, V.V. Popov - in Warsaw. Together with them, Butlerov worked on the development of his theory of the structure of organic compounds. The work went in two directions - theoretical and experimental. It was in those years in the Kazan laboratory that Butlerov first revealed the secret of isomerism as a result of his classical studies on a group of isomeric compounds. His most famous work is the preparation of trimethylcarbinol, which is isomeric with the well-known butyl alcohol. Butlerov developed a general synthesis method and conducted research on tertiary alcohols.

The theoretical and experimental work of Butlerov and his students was of great importance for the establishment of the theory of chemical structure. However, until the vast factual material of organic chemistry was generalized and systematized on the basis of this theory, it was not necessary to think that the theory of structure would supplant completely pre-structural theories. To help this, Alexander Mikhailovich decided to write a textbook in this direction. Thus, in 1864-1866. "Introduction to the Complete Study of Organic Chemistry" appeared, published in Kazan. This book, historically the first manual based on the theory of chemical structure, achieved the goal indicated by the author in the preface: "Conform to the current state of science." In 1867-1868. the book appeared in German and had a profound influence on the development and dissemination of structural theory in Europe.

At a time when Butlerov, who had been removed from the rectorship, felt with particular acuteness that he could not be satisfied with “service to science” alone, in Kazan in 1865 the organization of zemstvo institutions began. Butlerov participated in them as a vowel of the Spassky district and a member of the Kazan provincial zemstvo assemblies.

In the Spassky district assembly, he participated in the commissions for the preparation of the main zemstvo layout, for the organization of public education, submitted a note on measures to end begging, etc. In the Kazan provincial assembly, he was elected a member of the School Council, worked in the commission that compiled a report on the deaths of livestock, and in the commission for the organization of public education.

In May 1868, when A.M. Butlerov was on his third business trip abroad, he was elected a professor at the Department of Chemistry of St. Petersburg University. The transition to the capital's university met Butlerov's wishes. Staying at Kazan University, in which those against whom he fought as rector increasingly raised their heads, became painful. Petersburg University has concentrated within its walls the best forces not only in scientific but also in social terms. And, finally, with the transfer to St. Petersburg, Butlerov's dream of being elected to the Academy of Sciences and thus obtaining the opportunity for quiet scientific work became quite real.

Butlerov returned from a business trip in July 1868. The trustee of the Kazan educational district asked the Ministry of Public Education to postpone Butlerov’s transfer to St. Petersburg University for six months so that he could calmly transfer the department and laboratory in Kazan to his successor V.V. famous doctoral thesis "Materials on the mutual influence of atoms in chemical compounds."

The decade between 1858 and 1868 was the most fruitful in the scientific activity of A.M. Butlerov. Hard laboratory work during the day was replaced by office work in the evening. Reading lectures at the university and preparing for them in the quiet evening hours became hours of intense creative work. Butlerov puts the principle of the chemical structure of organic compounds and its influence on the physical and chemical properties of substances into the basis of the presentation of the course of organic chemistry. Having created the theory of the chemical structure of organic compounds, the scientist gained worldwide fame and increased the fame of Kazan University.

Recognizing the high scientific merits of A.M. Butlerov, his active pedagogical and educational activities, the Council of Kazan University on February 22, 1869 elected him an honorary member. In the professorial reading room of the university, a portrait of Butlerov, made with oil paints, was hung out. Now this portrait is in the assembly hall of the university.

Butlerov, in a letter to the Council of Kazan University, expressed his gratitude for being elected an honorary member of the university:

The Council was pleased to honor me with a flattering election as an honorary member of the Kazan University, and I hasten to offer a sincere expression of deepest gratitude for this high honor conferred on me. The best years of my life passed at Kazan University, and grateful memories inseparably connect me with it. Having now consolidated this connection, the Council gives me the right to call Kazan University, as before, my native university, and my feelings for it make me highly value this right.

Alexander Butlerov

Kazan

April 25th 1869.

At the beginning of 1869, Butlerov moved to St. Petersburg and on January 23 gave his first lecture, which was enthusiastically received by the students. A year later, in March 1870, he was elected an adjunct of the Academy of Sciences, the next year - an extraordinary academician, and in 1874 - an ordinary academician.

All studies of the Petersburg period in their direction and content are a continuation of the famous works of the Kazan period. So, he confirmed his theoretical conclusions about the existence of two isomers - butane and isobutane, received the unsaturated hydrocarbon isobutylene and showed the possibility of polymerization of unsaturated hydrocarbons. It is remarkable that with his research, which began back in Kazan, Butlerov laid the foundations for many syntheses that are of great practical importance at the present time. These are his experiments on the conversion of ethylene into ethyl alcohol, the production of isobutane and isobutylene. Synthetic divinyl (or Lebedev) rubber is obtained from ethyl alcohol, butyl rubber from isobutylene.

In St. Petersburg, as well as in Kazan, Butlerov did not confine himself to official scientific and pedagogical activities.

The social activity of A.M. Butlerov was especially active in the Free Economic Society in the field of development of rational beekeeping in Russia. He was interested in the cultivation of tea in the Caucasus and traveled to Batumi and Sukhumi to find out the possibility of growing this crop.

An active member of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society, after N.N. Zinin, he was the president of this society for 4 years.

True to his convictions, Butlerov in St. Petersburg actively fought for the development of higher women's education in Russia, conducted pedagogical work at the Higher Women's Courses.

For 16 years of his academic activity, he continuously and stubbornly fought against the academic reaction, which closed the doors of the Academy to outstanding Russian scientists. So, the candidacies of D.I.Mendeleev, V.V.Markovnikov, A.M.Zaitsev, B.N.Menshutkin presented by him were voted out. This struggle by Butlerov undoubtedly played a large role in the gradual weakening of foreign influence in the Academy, which was outlined in subsequent years.

It seemed that Butlerov, a seasoned athlete, always vigorous and strong, would continue to contribute to the flourishing and progress of Russian science for many years to come. But it happened differently. The genius of Russian chemical thought died out in the prime of his life at the age of 58. He died on August 5 (17), 1886 in his family estate Butlerovka after a short and unexpected illness and was buried in a village cemetery near Butlerovka. Currently, the crypt, which houses Butlerov's grave, is in good condition.

A brilliant description of the scientific and pedagogical activity of A.M. Butlerov was given by D.I. Mendeleev at the Council of St. Petersburg University before voting on Butlerov’s candidacy for ordinary professors: “A.M. Butlerov is one of the most remarkable Russian scientists. He is Russian both in terms of his scientific education and the originality of his works. A student of our famous Academician N. Zinin, he became a chemist not in foreign lands, but in Kazan, where he continues to develop an independent chemical school. The direction of the scientific works of A.M. does not constitute a continuation or development of the ideas of his predecessors, but belongs to himself. In chemistry, there is a Butler school, a Butler trend ... ".

Butlerov's memory is immortalized in Kazan in the name of a street, a monument was erected to him near the university, and at the university, in the museum of the Kazan School of Chemistry, Butlerov's auditorium and office with his personal scientific library, laboratory and equipment of the 19th century, substances first obtained by him are carefully preserved. On the building of the old chemical laboratory, where the museum and the chemical institute. A.M. Butlerov, a memorial plaque with his name was installed.

T. SOROKINA

(From the book "Rectors of Kazan University")

Article from the Encyclopedic Dictionary

Brockhaus and Efron", 1890-1907

The great Russian chemist Alexander Butlerov was born on September 3 (15), 1828 in the city of Chistopol, Kazan province. He died on August 5 (17), 1886, was buried in the village of Butlerovka, Spassky district (now Alekseevsky district of Tatarstan).

Russian organic chemist, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, founder of the first national school in organic chemistry. He substantiated the theory of chemical structure, according to which the properties of substances are determined by the order of bonds of atoms in molecules and their mutual influence. He was the first to explain the phenomenon of isomerism. Discovered the polymerization of isobutylene. Synthesized a number of organic compounds (urotropine, formaldehyde polymer, etc.). Proceedings on agriculture, beekeeping. Champion of higher education for women.

Butlerov began to engage in chemical experiments already in a private boarding school, where he was sent at the age of ten, and in the first Kazan male gymnasium, where he was sent to continue his education. One of them ended in an explosion, and the teachers of the boarding school sent the offender to the punishment cell, hanging a board with the inscription "great chemist" on his chest. In 1844, he entered Kazan University, where he attracted the attention of famous chemists N. Zinin and K. Klaus, on whose advice he created a home laboratory.

After graduating from the university (1849), Butlerov, at the suggestion of K. Klaus and N. Lobachevsky, lectured on physics, chemistry and physical geography. In 1851 received a master's degree, in 1854 he defended his doctoral dissertation at Moscow University ("On essential oils"), after which he was elected extraordinary, and in 1857 - ordinary professor of chemistry at Kazan University.

According to contemporaries, Butlerov was one of the best lecturers of his time. In addition to university courses, he gave public lectures on chemistry (the Kazan public sometimes preferred visiting them to fashionable theatrical performances), participated in the work of the Kazan Economic Society, published articles on botany, floriculture, and agriculture. Of great importance for the formation of scientific interests was his business trip in 1857-1858. to Europe, where Butlerov got acquainted with the best chemical laboratories and a number of enterprises.

Butlerov's own experimental work, familiarity with the state of chemistry abroad, and a deep interest in the theoretical foundations of chemistry led Butlerov to the ideas that he presented in 1861. at the Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians. The report "On the chemical structure of matter" is Butlerov's first presentation of his famous theory of chemical structure, which he developed throughout his scientific career.

In 1860-1863. Butlerov twice acted as rector of Kazan University against his will.

Introducing him for election as a professor of chemistry at St. Petersburg University, D.I. Mendeleev emphasized the originality of Butlerov’s scientific work: “The direction of A.M. Butlerov’s scientific works does not constitute a continuation or development of the ideas of his predecessors, but belongs to him. In chemistry there is a Butler school, a Butler trend.

In 1880-1883. Butlerov was the president of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society.

Family. Years of study

The Butlerov family descended from Yuri Butler, who came to serve in Russia from Courland, probably in the 16th century. Butlerov's father, Mikhail Vasilyevich, a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, after his resignation with the rank of lieutenant colonel, lived in his family village of Butlerovka; mother, Sofya Alexandrovna, nee Strelkova, died at the age of 19, 4 days after the birth of her son.

Butlerov's childhood passed on the estate of his maternal grandfather - the village of Podlesnaya Shantala, surrounded by forests, where his aunts were engaged in his upbringing, and in Butlerovka, located nearby. When, at the age of ten, Butlerov was transferred to a private boarding school, he was fluent in French and German. After a big fire in Kazan in 1842, the boarding school was closed, and Butlerov was assigned to the 1st Kazan gymnasium. Already in the boarding school and gymnasium, Butlerov was engaged in chemical experiments (one of them ended in an explosion, and the teachers of the boarding house sent the offender to the punishment cell, hanging a board with the inscription “great chemist” on his chest), collected collections of plants and insects. In 1844, Butlerov entered Kazan University, where he attracted the attention of famous chemists N.N. Zinin and K.K. Klaus, on whose advice he created a home laboratory. However, his Ph.D. thesis, possibly due to Zinin's move to St. Petersburg, was devoted to butterflies.

Kazan period

After graduating from the university (1849), Butlerov was involved in teaching (Klaus and N.I. Lobachevsky interceded for him) and lectured on physics, chemistry and physical geography. In 1851, Butlerov received a master's degree, in 1854 he defended his doctoral dissertation at Moscow University ("On essential oils"), after which he was elected extraordinary, and in 1857 - ordinary professor of chemistry at Kazan University. In 1851 he married N.M. Glumilina, niece of S.T. Aksakov.

According to contemporaries, Butlerov was one of the best lecturers of his time: he completely dominated the audience thanks to the clarity and rigor of presentation, which he combined with the imagery of the language. In addition to university courses, Butlerov gave public lectures on chemistry (the Kazan public sometimes preferred visiting them to fashionable theatrical performances), participated in the work of the Kazan Economic Society, published articles on botany, floriculture, and agriculture. Of great importance for the formation of scientific interests was his business trip in 1857-1858 to Europe, where Butlerov got acquainted with the best chemical laboratories and a number of chemical enterprises. He attended lectures by A. Becquerel, E. Micherlich, R. V. Bunsen, J. Liebig, met A. Kekule, and worked for about six months in the laboratory of A. Wurtz in Paris. Returning to Kazan, Butlerov rebuilt the chemical laboratory and continued the studies of methylene derivatives begun by Wurtz, during which he obtained hexamethylenetetramine, which later found wide application in industry and medicine. Another important discovery of this period is the first chemical synthesis of a sugary substance ("methylenenitane").

Theory of chemical structure

His own experimental work, acquaintance with the state of chemistry abroad, and a deep interest in the theoretical foundations of chemistry led Butlerov to the ideas that he presented in 1861 at the Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians in Speyer (Speyer). The report "On the chemical structure of matter" is Butlerov's first presentation of his famous theory of chemical structure, which he developed and developed throughout his scientific career. Fundamentally new in his theory, which included the ideas of A. Kekule about valency and A. Cooper about the ability of carbon atoms to form chains, was the position on the chemical (and not mechanical) structure of molecules (the term "chemical structure" belongs to Butlerov), under which Butlerov understood the method of connecting the atoms that make up a molecule to each other in accordance with a certain amount of chemical force (affinity) belonging to each of them. Butlerov established a close connection between the structure and chemical properties of a complex organic compound, which allowed him to explain the phenomenon of isomerism, as well as to explain and predict possible chemical transformations.

In 1860-1863 Butlerov twice acted as rector of Kazan University against his will. The rectorship fell on a difficult period in the history of the university (the abyssal unrest and the Kurtin memorial service that captured students, the struggle between various groups of professors, etc.) and it was hard for Butlerov, who repeatedly asked for his resignation. In 1864-1966 in Kazan, Butlerov published the textbook "Introduction to the Complete Study of Organic Chemistry" (soon translated into German), which contributed to the spread of Butler's theory in Russia and abroad.

Petersburg period. Social activity

During the third trip abroad (1867-1868), Butlerov was elected professor of chemistry at St. Petersburg University. In his presentation to the university, D.I. Mendeleev emphasized the originality of Butlerov’s scientific work: “The direction of A.M. Butlerov’s scientific works does not constitute a continuation or development of the ideas of his predecessors, but belongs to him. In chemistry there is a Butler school, a Butler trend. In January 1869, having finished reading the course and handing over the department and laboratory to V.V. Markovnikov, Butlerov moved to St. Petersburg. Soon he was elected extraordinary (1871), and then ordinary (1874) academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. During the St. Petersburg period of his life, Butlerov continued experimental work, improved the theory of chemical structure (the article "The Modern Significance of the Theory of Chemical Structure", 1879, etc.), and devoted a lot of energy to public life. He actively participated in the creation (1878) of the Higher Women's Courses and organized chemical laboratories at the courses, as a member of the Free Economic Society he vigorously promoted the methods of rational beekeeping (his brochures "Bee ..." and "How to Lead the Bees" were repeatedly reprinted until the 1930s ), in 1886 he founded the journal Russian Beekeeping Leaf.

In 1880-1883 Butlerov was the president of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society. His article "The Russian or only the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg?", published in 1882 in the newspaper Rus' in connection with the academic elections, had a great resonance. Butlerov's passion for spiritualism, which shocked his contemporaries, was also in these years, with which he first became acquainted in 1854 at the Aksakovs' estate Abramtsevo. Later, he became close with A.N. Aksakov (his wife’s cousin), who published the spiritualistic journal Psychic Research (in 1889 Aksakov published A. M. Butlerov’s Collection of Articles on Mediumship). Despite the condemnation of students and colleagues, Butlerov passionately and seriously defended his hobby.

In 1875, Butlerov, after 25 years of service, was supposed to retire, but the Council of St. Petersburg University twice postponed this period by 5 years. Butlerov gave his last lecture on March 14, 1885.

The fate of Butlerov as a scientist was successful. His work during his lifetime received full recognition both in Russia and abroad, and without his scientific school (among his students - V.V. Markovnikov, A.M. Zaitsev, A.E. Favorsky, I.L. Kondakov) it is impossible to imagine development of chemistry in Russia.

Contemporaries noted the great charm of Butlerov's personality, his versatile talent, breadth of views and interests, open, sociable character, good nature, delicate and condescending attitude towards students.

From a young age, Butlerov was distinguished by good health and great physical strength - the poker, curved by him in the form of the letter "b", was stored for a long time in a chemical laboratory in Kazan. But intensive scientific work and social activities undermined Butlerov's strength - he unexpectedly died on his estate.

Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov died on August 5 (17), 1886 in his family estate Butlerovka in the Spassky district after a short and unexpected illness and was buried there, in the village cemetery (now Alekseevsky district of Tatarstan). The crypt in which his grave is located is well maintained. There is Butlerova street in Kazan. The monument to the great chemist at the entrance to the Lenin Garden was erected in September 1978 (sculptor Yu.G. Orekhov, architects V.A. Puterburzhtsev, V.A. Stepanov).

Monument to the scientist in Kazan

At that time, an all-Union conference was held in Kazan, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great chemist. At Kazan University, Butlerov's auditorium and office with his personal scientific library, laboratory and equipment of the 19th century, and substances received by him are carefully preserved. On the building of the old chemical laboratory, where the museum and chemical institute named after A.M. Butlerov is located, a memorial plaque with his name was installed.

See: Arbuzov A.E. A.M. Butlerov. Great Russian chemist . M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1961; Gumilevsky L. A. M. Butlerov. 1828-1886. Moscow: Young guard, 1951.

See: A.M. Vutlerov. According to contemporaries. pp.107-108.

Mendeleev D.I.. Op. T. 15. Ed. Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 1949. P.295.

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BUTLEROV Alexander Mikhailovich, Russian chemist, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1874).

He graduated from the natural department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kazan University (1849). He worked there (from 1849 a teacher, from 1854 extraordinary, from 1857 ordinary professor of chemistry, in 1860 and 1863 rector). In 1868-85 he was an ordinary professor of chemistry at St. Petersburg University. In 1885 he retired, but continued to give special courses of lectures at the university. Chairman of the Department of Chemistry of the Russian Physical and Chemical Society (1878-1882). In 1956, the USSR Academy of Sciences established the A. M. Butlerov Prize.

The main field of scientific research is organic chemistry. He discovered a new method for the production of diiodomethane (1858), obtained and investigated its numerous derivatives, in particular, for the first time (1859) he synthesized a polymer of formaldehyde, called Butlerov "dioxymethylene" (paraformaldehyde). Acting on "dioxymethylene" with ammonia, he obtained (1860) hexamethylenetetramine (urotropine), under the action of an aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide - the sugary substance "methylenenitane" (1861), that is, for the first time carried out a complete synthesis of carbohydrate (later, however, it turned out that "methylenenitane" is a mixture of various monosaccharides).

Butlerov made a significant contribution to the development of the theory of the chemical structure of organic substances. He outlined the main provisions of this theory in the report "On the chemical structure of matter", read in the chemical section of the congress of German naturalists and doctors in Speyer (September 1861). The provisions are formulated by Butlerov as follows: “Assuming that only a certain and limited amount of chemical force (affinity) with which it takes part in the formation of a body is characteristic of each chemical atom, I would call this chemical bond, or the method of mutual connection of atoms in a complex tele” (Soch., vol. 1, 1953, village 561); “... the chemical nature of a complex particle is determined by the nature of the elementary constituents, their quantity and chemical structure” (ibid., village 70).

In the modern formulation, this means that the chemical properties of a molecule are determined by its composition and chemical structure. According to Butlerov, all reactions are suitable for determining the chemical structure: compounds (synthesis), decomposition (analysis) and substitution (double exchange). Based on the proposed theory, Butlerov managed to explain the phenomenon of isomerism by the difference in the chemical structure of substances that have the same composition. He predicted and explained the isomerism of many organic compounds, including butane, pentane, various alcohols up to and including amyl alcohols (1864). He conducted a large number of experiments confirming the theory put forward by him: he synthesized and established the structure of tert-butanol (1864), isobutane (1866) and isobutene (1867), elucidated the structure of a number of ethylene hydrocarbons, and for the first time began a systematic study of polymerization based on the theory of chemical structure. He showed the possibility of reversible isomerization, laying the foundations for the theory of tautomerism (1862).

Studied the history of chemistry and lectured on the history of organic chemistry (1873). He wrote the textbook "Introduction to the Complete Study of Organic Chemistry" (parts 1-3, 1864-66) - the first manual in the history of science based on the theory of chemical structure, in which he summarized and systematized extensive factual material on organic chemistry. The book was translated with additions under the editorship of the author into German ("Lehrbuch der organischen Chemie", 1868) and had a great influence on the development and dissemination of structural theory.

Butlerov's great merit is the creation of a school of organic chemists. Butlerov's students at Kazan University - V. V. Markovnikov, A. N. Popov, A. M. Zaitsev, even during his lifetime, occupied professorial departments at universities. Among the students of Butlerov at St. Petersburg University, the most famous are A. E. Favorsky, M. D. Lvov and I. L. Kondakov. At various times, E. E. Vagner, D. P. Konovalov, and F. M. Flavitsky worked as interns in Butlerov’s laboratory.

Butlerov was actively engaged in social activities. In Kazan, he gave public lectures on technical chemistry, was an active member of the Kazan Free Economic Society, and took part in the work of zemstvo institutions; in St. Petersburg read popular science public lectures. He was a champion of higher education for women, participated in the organization of the Higher Women's Courses, read courses in organic (1879) and inorganic chemistry (1880-86) for students. At the suggestion of Butlerov, a chemical laboratory was set up in the premises of the courses (1880). He also paid much attention to the practical issues of agriculture, horticulture, beekeeping, and later tea cultivation in the Caucasus.

Cit.: An Introduction to the Complete Study of Organic Chemistry. Kazan, 1864-1866. Issue. 1-3; Selected Works in Organic Chemistry. M., 1951; Op. M., 1953-1958. T. 1-3; Scientific and pedagogical activity. Sat. documents. M., 1961.

Lit .: Arbuzov A. E. A. M. Butlerov is a great Russian chemist. M., 1954; Morkovnikov V.V. Moscow speech about Butlerov // Proceedings of the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology. 1956. Vol. 12; Bykov G. V. A. M. Butlerov. M., 1961.

Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich

Russian chemist Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov was born in Chistopol, Kazan province, into the family of a landowner, a retired officer. Having lost his mother early, Butlerov was brought up in one of the private boarding schools in Kazan, then studied at the Kazan gymnasium. At the age of sixteen, he entered the Physics and Mathematics Department of Kazan University, which at that time was the center of natural science research in Russia. In the first years of his student life, Butlerov was fond of botany and zoology, but then, under the influence of lectures by K. K. Klaus and N. N. Zinin, he became interested in chemistry and decided to devote himself to this science. In 1849, Butlerov graduated from the university and, at the suggestion of Klaus, was left at the department as a teacher. In 1851 he defended his master's thesis "On the oxidation of organic compounds", and in 1854 his doctoral dissertation "On essential oils". In 1854, Butlerov became an extraordinary, and in 1857, an ordinary professor of chemistry at Kazan University.

During a trip abroad in 1857-1858. Butlerov met many leading European chemists, participated in meetings of the newly organized Paris Chemical Society. In the laboratory of S. A. Wurtz, Butlerov began a cycle of experimental studies, which served as the basis for the theory of chemical structure. He formulated its main provisions in the report "On the Chemical Structure of Matter", read at the Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians in Speyer (September 1861). The foundations of this theory are formulated as follows: 1) “Assuming that each chemical atom has only a certain and limited amount of chemical force (affinity) with which it takes part in the formation of the body, I would call this chemical bond, or the method of mutual connection, the chemical structure atoms in a complex body”; 2) "... the chemical nature of a complex particle is determined by the nature of the elementary constituents, their quantity and chemical structure."

All other provisions of the classical theory of chemical structure are directly or indirectly connected with these postulates. Butlerov outlines the way to determine the chemical structure and formulates the rules that can be followed in this. He gives preference to synthetic reactions carried out under conditions when the radicals involved in them retain their chemical structure. Leaving open the question of the preferred form of chemical structure formulas, Butlerov spoke about their meaning: "... when the general laws of the dependence of the chemical properties of bodies on their chemical structure become known, then such a formula will be an expression of all these properties." At the same time, Butlerov was convinced that structural formulas cannot be just a conventional representation of molecules, but should reflect their real structure. He emphasized that each molecule has a well-defined structure and cannot combine several such structures.

Of great importance for the formation of the theory of chemical structure was its experimental confirmation in the works of both Butlerov himself and his school. Butlerov foresaw and then proved the existence of positional and skeletal isomerism. Having received tertiary butyl alcohol, he managed to decipher its structure and proved (together with his students) that it has isomers. In 1864, Butlerov predicted the existence of two butanes and three pentanes, and later also isobutylene. He also suggested the existence of four valeric acids; the structure of the first three was determined in 1871 by E. Erlenmeyer, and the fourth was obtained by Butlerov himself in 1872. In order to carry the ideas of the theory of chemical structure through all organic chemistry, Butlerov published in 1864-1866. in Kazan, the book "Introduction to the full study of organic chemistry", 2nd ed. which came out already in 1867-1868. in German.

Butlerov's teaching activity lasted 35 years and took place in three higher educational institutions: Kazan, St. Petersburg universities and the Higher Women's Courses (he took part in their organization in 1878). Many of his students worked under the guidance of Butlerov, among whom are V. V. Markovnikov, F. M. Flavitsky, A. M. Zaitsev (in Kazan), A. E. Favorsky, I. L. Kondakov (in St. Petersburg). Butlerov became the founder of the famous Kazan ("Butlerov") school of organic chemists. Butlerov also read many popular lectures, mainly on chemical and technical topics.

In addition to chemistry, Butlerov paid much attention to the practical issues of agriculture, horticulture, beekeeping, and later also tea cultivation in the Caucasus. From the end of the 1860s. Butlerov was actively interested in spiritualism and mediumship, to which he devoted several articles; this hobby of Butlerov and his attempts to give spiritualism a scientific justification became the reason for his controversy with Mendeleev. Butlerov died in the village. Butlerovka of the Kazan province, not having lived to see the final recognition of his theory. The two most significant Russian chemists are

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Creator of the theory of the chemical structure of organic substances, founder of the "Butlerov school"

Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov(September 3 [September 15], Chistopol - August 5 [August 17], Butlerovka village, now Alekseevsky district of Tatarstan) - Russian chemist, creator of the theory of the chemical structure of organic substances, founder of the "Butler school" of Russian chemists, beekeeper and lepidopterologist, public figure, rector of the Imperial Kazan University in 1860-1863.

Biography

Born into the family of a landowner, a retired officer - a participant in the Patriotic War of 1812.

He received his initial education in a private boarding school, and then in a gymnasium in Kazan, in 1844-1849 he was a student of the Kazan University "of the category of natural sciences." Since 1849 he was a teacher, since 1854 he was an extraordinary, and since 1857 an ordinary professor of chemistry at the same university. In 1860-1863 he was twice its rector.

In 1868-1885 he was an ordinary professor of chemistry at St. Petersburg University. In 1885 he retired, but continued to read special courses of lectures at the university. In 1870 he was elected adjunct, in 1871 - extraordinary, and in 1874 - ordinary academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In 1878-1882, N. N. Zinin's successor as chairman of the Department of Chemistry of the Russian Chemical Society. Honorary member of many other scientific societies in Russia and abroad.

Addresses in St. Petersburg

1870 - 08/05/1886 - 8th line, 17, apt. 2.

Scientific activity

While still a pupil of the boarding school, he began to be interested in chemistry: together with his comrades, they tried to make either gunpowder or "bengal lights". Once, when one of the experiments led to a strong explosion, the teacher severely punished him. For three days in a row, Sasha was taken out and put in a corner for the whole time while the others were having dinner. A black board was hung around his neck, on which "The Great Chemist" was written. Subsequently, these words became prophetic. At Kazan University, Butlerov became interested in teaching chemistry, whose professors were K. K. Klaus and N. N. Zinin. Since 1852, after Klaus moved to Dorpat University, Butlerov headed the teaching of all chemistry at Kazan University. In 1851 Butlerov defended his master's thesis "On the Oxidation of Organic Compounds", and in 1854 at Moscow University - his doctoral dissertation "On Essential Oils". During a trip abroad in 1857-1858, he became close friends with many prominent chemists, including F. A. Kekule and E. Erlenmeyer, and spent about six months in Paris, actively participating in meetings of the newly organized Paris Chemical Society. In Paris, in the laboratory of S. A. Wurtz, Butlerov began the first cycle of experimental research. Having discovered a new method for obtaining methylene iodide, Butlerov obtained and investigated its numerous derivatives; for the first time synthesized hexamethylenetetramine (urotropine) and formaldehyde polymer, which, when treated with lime water, turned into a sugary substance (containing, as was established by E. Fischer, a-acrosis). According to Butlerov, this is the first complete synthesis of a sugary substance.

Scientific contribution

Key Ideas theories of chemical structure Butlerov first stated in 1861. He outlined the main provisions of his theory in the report "On the chemical structure of matter", read at the chemical section of the Congress of German Naturalists and Physicians in Speyer (September 1861). The foundations of this theory are formulated as follows:

All other provisions of the classical theory of chemical structure are directly or indirectly connected with this postulate. Butlerov outlines the way to determine the chemical structure and formulates the rules that can be followed in this. He gives preference to synthetic reactions carried out under conditions when the radicals involved in them retain their chemical structure. However, Butlerov also foresees the possibility of regroupings, believing that subsequently "general laws" will be derived for these cases as well. Leaving open the question of the preferred form of chemical structure formulas, Butlerov spoke about their meaning: "... when the general laws of the dependence of the chemical properties of bodies on their chemical structure become known, then such a formula will be an expression of all these properties."

Butlerov was the first to explain the phenomenon of isomerism by the fact that isomers are compounds that have the same elemental composition, but different chemical structure. In turn, the dependence of the properties of isomers and organic compounds in general on their chemical structure is explained by the existence in them of the “mutual influence of atoms” transmitted along the bonds, as a result of which the atoms, depending on their structural environment, acquire different “chemical significance”. Butlerov himself and especially his students V. V. Markovnikov and A. N. Popov specified this general provision in the form of numerous “rules”. Already in the 20th century, these rules, like the whole concept of the mutual influence of atoms, received an electronic interpretation.

Of great importance for the formation of the theory of chemical structure was its experimental confirmation in the works of both Butlerov himself and his school. He foresaw and then proved the existence of positional and skeletal isomerism. Having received tertiary butyl alcohol, he managed to decipher its structure and proved (together with his students) that it has isomers. In 1864 Butlerov predicted the existence of two butanes and three pentanes, and later also isobutylene. In order to carry the ideas of the theory of chemical structure through all organic chemistry, Butlerov published in 1864-1866 in Kazan in 3 editions "Introduction to the complete study of organic chemistry", the 2nd edition of which was published in 1867-1868 in German.

Butlerov was the first to begin a systematic study of polymerization based on the theory of chemical structure, which was continued in Russia by his followers and culminated in the discovery by S. V. Lebedev of an industrial method for producing synthetic rubber.

Pedagogical activity

Butlerov's great merit is the creation of the first Russian school of chemists. Even during his lifetime, Butlerov's students at Kazan University V. V. Markovnikov, A. N. Popov, A. M. Zaitsev occupied professorial departments at universities. Of the students of Butlerov at St. Petersburg University, the most famous are A. E. Favorsky, M. D. Lvov and I. L. Kondakov. At various times, E. E. Vagner, D. P. Konovalov, F. M. Flavitsky, A. I. Bazarov, A. A. Krakau and other prominent Russian chemists worked as trainees in the Butlerov laboratory. A distinctive feature of Butlerov as a leader was that he taught by example - students could always observe for themselves what and how the professor was working on.

Social activity

A lot of strength was taken away from Butlerov by the struggle for recognition by the Academy of Sciences of the merits of Russian scientists. In 1882, in connection with academic elections, Butlerov turned directly to public opinion by publishing an accusatory article in the Moscow newspaper "Rus" "Russian or only the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg?".

Butlerov was a champion of higher education for women, participated in the organization of the Higher Women's Courses in 1878, and created the chemical laboratories of these courses. In Kazan and St. Petersburg, Butlerov gave many popular lectures, mainly on chemical and technical topics.

In addition to chemistry, Butlerov paid much attention to the practical issues of agriculture, horticulture, beekeeping, and later also tea cultivation in the Caucasus. He was the founder and, at first, the editor-in-chief of the "Russian Beekeeping Leaf". Being one of the organizers of the Russian Society for the Acclimatization of Animals and Plants, he made a great contribution to the development of horticulture and beekeeping. The book “Bee, its life and the main rules of intelligent beekeeping” written by him went through more than 10 reprints before the revolution, and was also published in Soviet times.

• From the late 1860s, Butlerov showed an interest in spiritualism.

Memory

The memory of Butlerov was immortalized only under Soviet rule; academic edition of his works.

Notes

Compositions

1. Butlerov A. M. Diurnal butterflies of the Volga-Ural fauna. - Kazan: type. Imp. Kazan. un-ta, 1848. - 60 p.
2. Butlerov A. M. Report on the experience of the transformation of oats into rye // Notes of the Kazan Economic Society, 1855, part 2, sec. 2. - S. 109-112.
3. Butlerov A. M. An Introduction to the Complete Study of Organic Chemistry, c. 1-3, Kazan, 1864-1866.
4. Butlerov A. M. The bee, its life and the main rules of intelligent beekeeping. A short guide for bees, mainly for peasants. - St. Petersburg. , 1871.
5. Butlerov A. M. Articles on beekeeping. - St. Petersburg. , 1891.
6. Butlerov A. M. Selected Works in Organic Chemistry. - M ., 1951 (biblical works on chemistry).
7. Butlerov A. M. Works: In 3 volumes - M., 1953-1958 (bibl. works).
8. Butlerov A. M. Scientific and pedagogical activity: Collection of documents. - M., 1961.

Literature

1. A. M. Butlerov. 1828-1928: Collection of articles. - L., 1929.
2. Gumilevsky L.I. Butlerov. - M .: Young Guard, 1951. - 336 p. - (ZhZL).
3. Bykov G.V. Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov. - M., 1961.
4. Bykov G.V. History of the classical theory of chemical structure. - M., 1960.
5. V. V. Markovnikov Moscow speech about Butlerov // Proceedings of the Institute of the History of Natural Science and Technology. - 1956. - T. 12. - S. 135-181.
6. Melnikov N. M. On the studies of A. M. Butlerov of the fauna of the local region // In the book: Solemn public meeting of the Council of the Imperial Kazan University, dedicated to the memory of its late honorary member, Academician A. M. Butlerov, February 5, 1887 Kazan, 1887. - P. 62-67.
7. Letters of Russian chemists to A. M. Butlerov // Scientific heritage. - T. 4. - M., 1961.

Links

• Graham, Lauren."Natural Science, Philosophy, and the Sciences of Human Behavior in the Soviet Union, Chapter IX. Chemistry"

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Famous Russian chemist, head of the so-called "Butlerov school"; genus. August 25, 1828 in the city of Chistopol, Kazan province, mind. August 5, 1886 in the same province, in his own estate, the village of Butlerovka, Spassky district. Son… … Big biographical encyclopedia

Butlerov, Alexander Mikhailovich famous Russian chemist and prominent public figure (1828-86). Butlerov received his initial upbringing in Kazan. In 1844, he entered Kazan University for the natural category of physical and mathematical ... ... Biographical Dictionary

Butlerov, Alexander Mikhailovich- Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov. BUTLEROV Alexander Mikhailovich (1828-86), organic chemist, founder of a scientific school in Russia. He created (1861) the theory of chemical structure, according to which the properties of substances are determined by the order of bonds of atoms in molecules ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

Russian chemist, creator of the theory of chemical structure, head of the largest Kazan school of Russian organic chemists, ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (1828 86) Russian organic chemist, academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1874). Created (1861) and substantiated the theory of chemical structure, according to which the properties of substances are determined by the order of bonds of atoms in molecules and their mutual influence. Explained first... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Of course, website promotion in search engines is much easier than the works of scientists, but it also requires a scientific approach. From Butlerov's report, one can learn that in Paris he studied chemistry. In the laboratory of the famous professor A. Wurtz, he scrupulously studied the effect of sodium alcoholite on iodine, as well as sodium alcoholite on iodoform. These reactions were studied before him, but it was Butlerov who was one of the first to be able to derive methylene iodide, a substance whose density is 3.32 kg / m ^ 3. Butlerov's discovery is widely used by mineralogists. He turned methylene iodide into the starting material for the decomposition of most organic compounds.

Based on experiments with methylene iodide and silver oxalate, Butlerov managed to obtain the so-called oxymethylene, which, according to its properties, turns into the simplest aldehyde during the heating process, and when cooled, it goes back into the polymer state. The value of this compound is high because in 1861 Butlerov succeeded in using the action of lime water on oxymethylene to prove the possibility of obtaining a sugary beginning artificially, later called methyleneitane. This discovery led to a number of other studies of the properties of chemical compounds.

Alexander Mikhailovich wrote that naturalness is the necessity of mental conclusions following from the actual progress of science. These conclusions explain that all the views that Butlerov met in Western Europe represented little new for him. He was practically convinced that if he predicted in the near future the combination of controversial views and their deliverance from the imaginary vestments in which they are still located and which often hide their true appearance, their exact meaning.
Butlerov in 1860 obtained a complex nitrogen-containing substance - hexamethylenetetramine by the action of ammonia on dioxymethylene. This substance, called urotropin, is widely used in medicine and in chemical production. The following year, he made an equally significant study: when a lime solution was exposed to dioxymethylene, Butlerov, the very first chemist, obtained a sugary substance by synthesis.

All his experiments helped shape his hypotheses together, into one exceptional theory. He came to the conclusion that chemists have the ability to express the structure of organic substances with exact formulas.

Ever since the mid-sixties, the entrenched expressions in chemistry, such as the "Butlerov school", "Butlerov direction" have survived to this day. This direction is rightfully called Butlerovsky, because the outstanding chemist became one of the first to establish the scientific principle - “chemical structure”. Thus, this principle was applied comprehensively by connoisseurs of chemical sciences, and in addition, Butlerov, with his discovery, laid the foundation for a renewed teaching of chemistry and scientific work.