A. O. Kovalevsky is an outstanding scientist who made a significant contribution to science. He was an active supporter of Darwinism and supported the theory of evolution. In the article we will talk about the biography of Alexander Kovalevsky and his scientific achievements and facts.
Life Story
The future scientist was born on November 19, 1840 in the Vorkovo estate of the Vitebsk province of the Russian Empire. There is almost no information about his childhood, so let's move on to his training.
Alexander Kovalevsky in 1856 decides to enter the railway engineering corps. But he does not stay there for long and is transferred to the natural department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University.
He finishes his studies in 1863 at the same institution of higher education and receives a master's degree based on the results of his dissertation on the development of the lancelet. In addition, he received the title of Privatdozent at St. Petersburg University. Kovalevsky was a professor at Kazan, Kiev, Odessa, St. Petersburg universities.
To study marine animals, he took part in the following expeditions:
- In 1867 he sailed in the Adriaticsea.
- From 1864 to 1895 he visited the cities of Naples and Villafranca, which are located near the Mediterranean.
- In 1869 he plied the Caspian Sea, and in 1870 - the Red Sea.
- I visited the English Channel in 1892.
The scientist developed a set of measures to combat phylloxera (this is a grape pest). Together with other scientists, he organized a marine biological station in Sevastopol, where from 1892 to 1901 he was the director.
Alexander Onufrievich died on November 22, 1901 in the city of St. Petersburg.
Scientific achievements
Alexander Kovalevsky is considered one of the outstanding evolutionary biologists. Most of his work was devoted to the embryology and physiology of invertebrates.
He zealously supported Darwinism and was its active supporter. For a long time he studied the development of multicellular living organisms, paying special attention to invertebrates, which helped in determining the evolutionary paths of animals. In 1898 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge.
