Monument to N.I. Zheleznov
1816-1877
Nikolai Ivanovich Zheleznov was born in 1816 into a noble family. In his childhood, none of his relatives suspected that he would become an outstanding scientist of world renown. In 1834, after graduating from the Mining Institute, the young man entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University. There he became interested in natural sciences, especially botany. The year 1838 brought two disappointments for the future scientist: a planned expedition to Central Asia, to which he had been attached, was cancelled, and he was not accepted into the French polar expedition he had dreamed of joining. Despite these setbacks, Zheleznov continued his research, focusing on botany. His persistent work bore fruit: in 1840 he received a master’s degree, and in 1842 a doctorate for his research on the embryology of higher plants. In 1842, the scientist was sent abroad to prepare him to head a department of agriculture. Returning in November 1845, he took up the position of adjunct professor in the Department of Agriculture at St. Petersburg University. In the summer of 1846, Zheleznov traveled through central Russian provinces and the Volga region to study soils and land use. In the autumn of 1847, he was transferred to Moscow University as extraordinary professor in the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. From that time onward, he focused on agronomy while never forgetting his beloved botany. In 1853, the scientist left Moscow University to become adjunct professor in the Division of Plant Physiology at the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and in 1857 he was appointed extraordinary academician. During these years, Zheleznov conducted numerous experiments on cultivating plants on reclaimed lands, and his public reports attracted great interest in scientific circles. Nikolai Ivanovich also actively participated in the preparation of the peasant reform: from 1858 to 1861 he served as a government commissioner and advocated for the allocation of land to emancipated peasants. The scientist died in St. Petersburg in 1877. On December 12, 2006, a bust monument in his honor, created by sculptor L. N. Matyushin, was unveiled on Larch Alley at the K. A. Timiryazev Agricultural Academy.
Address: Moscow, Larch al., 2, building 1
