September 15, 1828
A chemist was born Alexander Butlerov. The author of the "theory of the chemical structure of organic substances," which made it possible to explain any chemical reaction and discover new chemical compounds. He was the founder of the "Butlerov school."
He is Russian both in his educational background and in the originality of his works... The direction of his scientific works does not constitute a continuation or development of the ideas of his predecessors, but belongs to him alone.
(Dmitry Mendeleev)
Born in Kazan Chistopol. His mother died 11 days after giving birth. His father, a lieutenant colonel who had fought in the War of 1812, was responsible for raising him. He owned a village. Bottler with 100 souls of serfs. This is where Sasha spent his childhood.
His father instilled in his son a love of nature, reading, and music. Sasha was an excellent horseman and marksman. His physical strength later became legendary—he would leave absent acquaintances a poker bent into the shape of a "B" instead of a business card.
When I was studying at a private boarding school in Kazan, He was especially fascinated by chemistry—he and his classmates tried to make gunpowder and sparklers. One experiment resulted in an explosion. As chief pyrotechnician, Butlerov was placed in solitary confinement, with a plaque hanging on his chest that read "Great Chemist." You guessed it.
He became a student at Kazan University in 1845. "Tall, strong-built, sanguine, handsome, blond, with blue eyes." (This is how Butlerov was described by a friend, a writer and zoologist Nikolai Wagner) initially showed zeal not only for chemistry, but also for botany and zoology.
On one of his expeditions, he contracted typhus. His father, who had come to care for him, became infected himself and died. Butlerov fell into depression, and those around him were seriously concerned about his mental health. He pulled through. He returned to his studies. He became increasingly interested in chemistry, especially since he had excellent teachers: Nikolay Zinin, obtained synthetic aniline, Karl Klaus, who discovered the new element ruthenium.
However, after graduating from university, Butlerov wrote his dissertation on the topic of “Diurnal butterflies of the Volga-Ural fauna.”
In 1850, he began lecturing on inorganic chemistry. In 1852, he became head of the university's chemical laboratory. In 1854, he defended his doctoral dissertation, "On Essential Oils," at Moscow University. In 1857, at the age of 29, he became a full professor at Kazan University.
Contemporaries wrote that Butlerov was a stunning lecturer. His "public lectures" on chemistry sometimes attracted more audiences than fashionable plays.
He traveled to Europe three times on scientific missions. In 1861, at the Congress of German Naturalists, he presented a paper entitled "On the Chemical Structure of Matter"—this was the first exposition of his theory, to which he dedicated his life.
What was fundamentally new in the theory was the position on the chemical (and not mechanical) structure of molecules, by which Butlerov understood the way in which the atoms that make up a molecule are connected to each other—in accordance with the amount of chemical force (affinity) inherent to each atom.
The chemist discovered the connection between the structure and properties of a complex organic compound, which allowed him to explain the phenomenon of isomerism (isomers are compounds that are identical in atomic composition, but differ in structure and, consequently, in properties), and also to predict possible chemical transformations.
Typical formulas… are too limited for the current state of science!
He was twice reluctantly elected rector of Kazan University. He was happy when he was able to relinquish this post. In 1864, he began publishing Introduction to a Complete Study of Organic ChemistryThe textbook was soon translated into German and contributed to the dissemination of Butlerov's theory throughout the world.
In 1868 he was elected professor of chemistry. Petersburg University. He laid the foundations for many syntheses of practical significance—experiments on converting ethylene into ethyl alcohol, and the production of isobutane and isobutylene (from which they would later learn to produce rubber).
He participated in the creation of the Higher Women's Courses and introduced sustainable beekeeping methods.
He died unexpectedly for everyone at the age of 57 from a short-term illness.
