Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich, chemist. Topic: “The great scientist A.M. Butlerov

Alexander Butlerov, creator of the theory of chemical structure - bright representative Kazan Chemical School, 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 USSR Academy of Sciences was held in Kazan, and a monument to A.M. Butlerov was unveiled near the university. In 1993, a memorial plaque was unveiled in the homeland of A.M. Butlerov in the city of Chistopol.

Since 1979 The Kazan Chemical School holds Butlerov readings, at which the country's leading chemists give review lectures on current 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, KSU hosted ceremonial meeting, dedicated to the 180th anniversary of A.M. Butlerov.

“On the chemical horizon of the nineteenth century there were two stars: Dmitry Mendeleev and Alexander Butlerov. The creator of the theory of chemical structure, a prominent representative of the Kazan School of Chemistry, Butlerov, is 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. In the Museum of the Kazan Chemical School there is a Butlerov auditorium and office, and a memorial plaque is 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, née Strelkova, died on the 11th day after birth 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 retiring, lived permanently in Butlerovka, part of which, along with one hundred souls of serfs, belonged to him by inheritance.

Mikhail Vasilyevich 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 his love for music, had a very keen understanding of it and played the piano well himself. Labor was respected in the house, and the owner himself set an example of hard work to everyone. On his estate there was an orchard and an apiary. Having some medical knowledge and skills, he treated residents of Butlerovka and surrounding villages who approached him free of charge.

M.V. Butlerov often took long walks through the forest, along the Kama River with his grown-up son, hunting and fishing. There were simple friendly relations between father and son. Character traits, habits and many inclinations of the father - respect for work, love for native nature- passed on to his son Alexander.

The father sought to develop his son not only mentally, but also physically. Physical education was held in high esteem in the Butlerovs' house. Sasha grew up strong, was a good shooter and hunter, an excellent horseman and swimmer. Subsequently, having become an adult, it happened that, not finding friends at home, he took an iron poker from their house and left it instead business card, bent in the shape of the letter B.

Loving his son dearly, Mikhail Vasilyevich did not spoil him, but taught him to systematically work and 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 primary education in Kazan at the Topornin private boarding school. In his studies, he was distinguished by great abilities and organization. He had an excellent memory by nature, which he also developed by memorizing poems by Pushkin and other Russian poets, as well as studying foreign languages He spoke French and German perfectly, 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 principles of chemistry. A tiny cabinet, always locked, appeared near Butlerov’s bed, in which he kept his bottles and “chemicals,” with which he diligently tinkered. free time. It all ended with a deafening explosion and unprecedented punishment. Into the common dining room, where other boys were sitting, the servants brought a guilty person with a black board on his chest several times from a dark punishment cell. On the board was written “Great Chemist” in large white letters. No one, of course, thought then that this mocking inscription would turn out to be prophetic.

After boarding school, his father enrolled Alexander in 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 Vasilyevich wanted his son to enter the mathematics department of the university, believing that he had great mathematical abilities, but Alexander preferred to become a natural scientist, study nature and natural sciences. In the fall of 1844, Alexander Butlerov entered Kazan University as an unapproved student, i.e. he was allowed to attend lectures without the right to take exams. Only in February 1845 was he enrolled as a first-year student in the category of mathematical sciences, with subsequent transfer to the category of natural sciences.

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

In the first years of his stay at the university, the young student studied botany, zoology, chemistry and other natural sciences with equal passion and zeal, and took part in numerous expeditions both in the vicinity of Kazan and far beyond its borders. During one of the expeditions in the summer of 1846, Butlerov fell ill with typhoid fever. Zoology professor P.I. Wagner, the leader of the expedition, brought him to Simbirsk and informed him of the illness of his son Mikhail Vasilyevich. Father immediately came to Simbirsk. While caring for his sick son, he himself became infected with typhus and with difficulty reached Butlerovka, where he fell ill with a very serious illness. high temperature and soon died. Alexander Mikhailovich, extremely exhausted from a serious illness he had just suffered, was so shocked and depressed by the death of his friend-father that those around him feared for his condition mental abilities. He could not continue his university studies for a long time. Fortunately, the seasoned nature of young Butlerov overcame this grief. After everything that happened, his studies in botany and zoology, although they continued, were no longer with such zeal. Butlerov began to be 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 listeners 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 for converting aromatic nitro compounds into amino compounds (preparation of synthetic aniline) and Karl Karlovich Klaus, who discovered new chemical element ruthenium.

During his first years at the university, Butlerov attended lectures on inorganic chemistry given 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 N.N. Zinin’s advice more and more. However, Zinin read organic chemistry in those years not in the natural sciences department, but in the mathematics department. “We naturalists,” Butlerov recalled, “in order to listen to N.N. Zinin, we had to attend lectures of someone else’s category. His lectures enjoyed a great reputation, and indeed, anyone who heard him as a professor or as a scientist giving a report on his research knows what a wonderful lecturer Zinin was: ...N.N. paid attention to me and soon introduced me to the progress of his work and to the various bodies of the benzoin and naphthalene series with which he had worked before... During these various experiments, the student had, willy-nilly, to become acquainted with various departments of organic chemistry. ...There was no need to be industrious when you worked together and at the same time with the professor! This is what our mentors - and N.N. - knew how to do. in particular, to arouse and maintain scientific interest in students.”

Probably, after Zinin moved to the St. Petersburg Medical-Surgical Academy, Butlerov began to study more biology, and this was one of the reasons that he presented the work “Day 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 the professorship. Butlerov’s teachers were confident that he “with his knowledge, talent, love for science and chemical research will honor the university and deserve 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 mathematical, natural and office classes, as well as on physics and physical geography with climatology to students of the Faculty of Medicine. 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 teaching 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 presented 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 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 nothing more than a good student with a good command of facts, but still completely devoid of scientific independence and a critical attitude to the subject.”

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

At this time, a big event occurred in Butlerov’s personal life - he married Nadezhda Mikhailovna Glumilina, the niece of S.T. Aksakov. After graduating from university, he and his mother’s sisters rented an apartment in a house that belonged to Aksakov’s sister. There he met his future wife.

However, neither event family life, nor the heavy teaching load, did not prevent Butlerov from preparing his doctoral dissertation, which was presented 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. Wagner and professor of chemistry and technology M.Ya. Kittary gave a completely satisfactory review, and the young professor of physics and chemistry A.S. Savelyev did not agree with their assessment and offered to listen to the opinion of any other Russian university. Butlerov's doctoral dissertation in its first version was of the same literary generalizing nature as his master's dissertation. 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 still given 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 his dissertation back, deciding to defend it at Moscow University. Having received leave for this purpose, in the fall of 1853 he went to Moscow, where he stayed until the beginning of 1854. Presenting his dissertation to Moscow University, Butlerov expanded it by adding a presentation of the results of his own experimental studies of essential oil from one southern Russian species of mint. In Moscow, he brilliantly passed the doctoral exam, defended his dissertation and was confirmed as a 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 Medical-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 he was approved for the scientific degree of Doctor of Science at Kazan University, E.A. Eversman and P.I. Wagner made a proposal to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics to award 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 traveled abroad three times for scientific purposes - in 1857/58, 1861, and 1867/68. Each of these trips, reflecting a certain stage in the scientific development of the great chemist, had various purposes. During these trips, he wrote travel notes, in which he showed himself to be a master artistic description. Working in Paris in Wurtz's laboratory, Butlerov first obtained methylene iodide - a substance that later served him as the source of a number of discoveries.

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

Alexander Butlerov's office at Kazan University

Research into the “methylene cycle” was continued in the updated laboratory. By acting on methylene iodide with various reagents, Butlerov isolated a substance 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 demonstrated 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 - urotropine 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 in organic substances with identical atomic composition depends on the orders of bonds of atoms in the 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 on the basis of the periodic law.

In December 1859, A.M. Butlerov turned 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 reason that was completely unexpected 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 50s - early 60s, the student movement revived at Kazan University. It begins to acquire organized forms with a clearly defined social position. Students opposed the system of investigation and espionage, which was implemented by the student inspectorate, demanded updating of teaching, and sought the expulsion of mediocre professors from the university.

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

The response of Kazan students to this ban was demonstrative applause at the lecture of the liberal-minded professor of Russian literature N.N. Bulich. After this, 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 dismissed from his position. Vyazemsky introduced Butlerov to the position of rector - young professor, who was respected by both students and professors.

On February 4, 1860, Alexander P signed a decree appointing A.M. Butlerov as acting rector.

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

Within six months, Butlerov turned to the minister with a request to resign from the post of rector. He motivated his request by the fact that the rectorship not only takes up a lot of time from scientific pursuits, but also entails another irreparable loss - the inability to maintain 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 not able to fill the staff of teachers, improve the material base of teaching and financial situation professors.

In the same letter to the minister, Butlerov expresses confidence that only radical changes can improve the situation of universities. He lists these transformations as:

• paying fees for listening to lectures not to the university, but to teachers. The possibility of 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 that a comfortable existence is ensured even for families;
• return to the previous procedure for electing rectors by the Council;
• printing of all minutes of Soviet meetings.

Butlerov made these proposals officially 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 we should also add the draft “University Leaflet” developed by A.M. Butlerov, N.P. Wagner and V.I. Grigorovich. This proposal was rejected by the Council, but then implemented in a different form in 1865 with the publication of Izvestia of Kazan University.

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

Continuing the traditions of Lobachevsky and Klaus, Butlerov skillfully selected creatively gifted individuals, who were left at the university “to prepare for the professorship.” Thus, the young scientists he sent abroad in 1862 for improvement upon their return became outstanding figures at 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. Arnshtein, N.O. Kovalevsky and others.

The chemical laboratory also owes many improvements to A.M. Butlerov.

During Butlerov's rectorship, A.P. Shchapov, a professor who had established 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, a library and reading room were opened, and teachers' congresses were convened. There were active “non-monetary” evening courses at the university for the common intelligentsia and workers, at which Butlerov systematically gave lectures.

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

In the fall of 1860, another wave of student protests against backward, ignorant and simply bad teachers began at Kazan University. Butlerov had his first unpleasant explanation with the students, who, after a very unsuccessful introductory lecture by Master of Pharmacy F.H. Grahe, expressed their disapproval to him by whistling. Grache 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 giving lectures. However, in January 1861 he resumed lecturing. The students asked the professor to respond to their wishes. Struve refused and began the lecture. There were whistles, shouts and the lecture was disrupted. Alexander Mikhailovich gave the students a severe reprimand, pointing out mainly to 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, students lost their dignity by tactlessness. He did not touch upon the right of the audience to express their opinion about the merits or demerits of the lecturer.

The reprimand of the beloved and respected professor was perceived unusually sharply. The audience addressed him with a large letter. The students wrote that Butlerov’s “reprimand”, his reproach for rudeness and bad manners hit them like a blow to the head, that they, of course, knew about other ways to express their wishes, but could not contain their indignation at Struve’s refusal to explain himself to them.

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

On his second trip, Butlerov visited many famous laboratories in Germany, Belgium and France, but the most important event was a report at the 36th Congress of German naturalists and doctors, in which he outlined the main principles of the theory of chemical structure.

In the summer, from abroad, Butlerov sent Vyazemsky a request for dismissal from the post of rector, but there was no response. After returning from a business trip in October 1861, Butlerov again turned to the trustee with the same request, citing the need to have time for teaching, work in the laboratory, and also for compiling reports on the business trip. 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 that, in his opinion, as a result of the orders that he, as rector, gave earlier, there is a hostile attitude towards him on the part of students and his assumption of this position at a time when it is necessary to bring calm may will only hurt the matter. Butlerov was allowed not to assume the post of rector, and in August 1862, by order of the Ministry of Public Education, he was dismissed from it.

In the fall of 1862, under pressure from public opinion, the ministry restored the election of the university rector. The election of the rector was coming up, in which, according to the regulations, all ordinary professors were supposed to stand. Despite Butlerov's request to be excused from running, he was not only added to the voting list, but was also elected again on October 27, 1862, by a majority of votes (14 for, 8 against) as rector. The order for the ministry 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.

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

A.M. Butlerov, who believed that “the move future life the university is closely connected with the scientific and moral merits of its figures,” he resolutely opposed the candidacy of I.I. Zederstedt, 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 confirmed with the rank of professor without going through a competition. And Butlerov, taking advantage of his request for release from rector’s duties, was dismissed from the post of rector on June 25, 1863 by order of the ministry.

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 the 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 began to develop heart disease, which did not leave him until the end of his life. He tried to find a place outside of 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 Kazan immediately after his resignation university. But chemistry only benefited from Butlerov’s resignation - he received more opportunities and time to work on the theory of chemical structure, especially its experimental verification.

Butlerov's proposals to repair and rebuild the laboratory were accepted and implemented. A separate room was set up for holding 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, and heads of laboratories at universities: A.M. Zaitsev - in Kazan, V.V. Markovnikov - in Moscow, A.N. Popov - in Warsaw. Together with them, Butlerov worked on the development of his doctrine of the structure of organic compounds. The work proceeded 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 the group isomeric compounds. His most famous work is the preparation of trimethylcarbinol, isomeric with the well-known butyl alcohol. Butlerov developed general method synthesis and conducted studies of tertiary alcohols.

The theoretical and experimental work of Butlerov and his students were of great importance for the establishment of the theory of chemical structure. However, until the extensive 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 completely displace 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 stated by the author in the preface: “To meet current state Sciences". In 1867-1868 the book appeared on German and had a profound influence on the development and dissemination of structural theory in Europe.

At a time when Butlerov, removed from the rectorship, felt with particular acuteness that one could not be satisfied with “serving science” alone, the organization of zemstvo institutions began in Kazan in 1865. Butlerov participated in them as a member of the Spassky district council and a member of the Kazan provincial zemstvo assembly.

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

In May 1868, when A.M. Butlerov was on his third trip abroad, he was elected professor at the Department of Chemistry at St. Petersburg University. The move to the capital's university corresponded to Butlerov's wishes. His stay at Kazan University, where those against whom he fought as rector were increasingly raising their heads, became painful. St. Petersburg University has concentrated within its walls the best forces not only in science, but also in public relations. And finally, with the move 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 delay 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. Markovnikov, who was already completing work on his famous doctoral dissertation “Materials on the issue of mutual influence of atoms in chemical compounds.”

The decade between 1858 and 1868 is the most fruitful in the scientific activity of A.M. Butlerov. Hard laboratory work during the day gave way to office work in the evening. Giving lectures at the university and preparing for them in quiet evening hours became hours of intense creative work. Butlerov’s presentation of the course in organic chemistry is based on the principle he formulated of the chemical structure of organic compounds and its influence on the physical and chemical properties of substances. Having created the theory of the chemical structure of organic compounds, the scientist gained worldwide fame and increased the glory of Kazan University.

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

Butlerov, in a letter to the Council of Kazan University, expressed gratitude for his election to honorary members of the university:

The Council was pleased to honor me with the flattering election of an honorary member of Kazan University, and I hasten to offer a sincere expression of deepest gratitude for this high honor bestowed upon me. Kazan University hosted best years my life, and grateful memories inextricably unite me with him. Having now secured this connection, the Council gives me the right to call Kazan University, as before, my home university, and my feelings for it make me highly value this right.

Alexander Butlerov

Kazan

April 25, 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 St. Petersburg period in their direction and content are a continuation of the famous works of the Kazan period. Thus, he confirmed his theoretical conclusions about the existence of two isomers - butane and isobutane, obtained the unsaturated hydrocarbon isobutylene and showed the possibility of polymerization of unsaturated hydrocarbons. It is remarkable that with his research, which began in Kazan, Butlerov laid the foundations for many syntheses that are currently of great practical importance. These are his experiments in converting ethylene into ethyl alcohol, producing isobutane and isobutylene. Synthetic divinyl (or Lebedev) rubber is obtained from ethyl alcohol, butyl rubber is made from isobutylene.

In St. Petersburg, just as in Kazan, Butlerov did not confine himself to the framework of official scientific and pedagogical activity.

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

An active member of the Russian Physicochemical 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, and conducted pedagogical work at the Higher Women's Courses.

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

It seemed that Butlerov, a seasoned athlete, always cheerful and strong, would 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 its prime 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 the village cemetery near Butlerovka. Currently, the crypt in which Butlerov's grave is located is in good condition.

A brilliant description of the scientific and pedagogical activities 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 professor: “A.M. Butlerov is one of the most remarkable Russian scientists. He is Russian both in his scientific education and in 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 school of chemistry. Direction of scientific works of A.M. does not constitute a continuation or development of the ideas of his predecessors, but belongs to him himself. In chemistry there is a Butlerov school, a Butlerov direction...”

Butlerov’s memory is immortalized in the name of a street in Kazan, a monument to him was erected not far from the university, and at the university, in the museum of the Kazan Chemical School, 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 chemical institute are located. 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, and 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, creator of the first domestic 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. He synthesized a number of organic compounds (urotropine, formaldehyde polymer, etc.). Works 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 men's gymnasium, where he was sent to continue his education. One of them ended in an explosion, and the boarding school teachers sent the offender to a punishment cell, hanging a board on his chest with the inscription “great chemist.” 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, and published articles on botany, floriculture, and agriculture. Great importance his business trip in 1857-1858 was important for the formation of scientific interests. to Europe, where Butlerov met the best chemical laboratories and a number of enterprises.

Own experimental work, familiarity with the state of chemistry abroad, deep interest in theoretical foundations chemistry led Butlerov to the ideas that he came up with in 1861. at the congress of German naturalists and doctors. 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 entire 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 creativity: “Direction scientific works A.M. Butlerov does not constitute a continuation or development of the ideas of his predecessors, but belongs to him himself. In chemistry there is a Butlerov school, a Butlerov direction.”

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

Family. Years of study

The Butlerov family began with 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 retirement with the rank of lieutenant colonel, lived in the 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 was spent on the estate of his maternal grandfather - the village of Podlesnaya Shantala, surrounded by forests, where his aunts raised him, and in nearby Butlerovka. 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 boarding school teachers sent the offender to the punishment cell, hanging a board on his chest with the inscription “great chemist”), 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 PhD thesis, perhaps 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 gave lectures 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, the 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 his presentation, which he combined with figurative language. In addition to university courses, Butlerov gave public lectures on chemistry (the Kazan public sometimes preferred their visits to fashionable theatrical performances), participated in the work of the Kazan Economic Society, and published articles on botany, floriculture, and agriculture. His business trip to Europe in 1857-1858, where Butlerov became acquainted with the best chemical laboratories and a number of chemical enterprises, was of great importance for the formation of scientific interests. He attended lectures by A. Becquerel, E. Mitscherlich, 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 research on methylene derivatives begun by Wurtz, during which he obtained hexamethylenetetramine, which later found wide use in industry and medicine. Another important discovery of this period is the first chemical synthesis sugary substance (“methylenenitane”).

Theory of chemical structure

His own experimental work, acquaintance with the state of chemistry abroad, and 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 doctors 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 entire scientific career. Fundamentally new in his theory, which included the ideas of A. Kekule on valency and A. Cooper on 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 the 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 explain and predict possible chemical transformations.

In 1860-1863, Butlerov twice acted as rector of Kazan University against his will. The rectorship occurred during a difficult period in the history of the university (the Bezdnensky unrest and the Kurtin memorial service, which also captured students, the struggle between various groups of professors, etc.) and was difficult for Butlerov, who more than once asked for 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 Butlerov’s theory in Russia and abroad.

Petersburg period. Social activity

During his 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 creativity: “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 himself. In chemistry there is a Butlerov school, a Butlerov direction.” In January 1869, having completed the course and handed 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 (article " Modern meaning theory of chemical structure", 1879, etc.), 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 energetically propagated the methods of rational beekeeping (his brochures “Bee...” and “How to Keep Bees” were reprinted many times until the 1930s ), in 1886 he founded the magazine “Russian Beekeeping Leaflet”.

In 1880-1883 Butlerov was president of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society. His article “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. These same years also marked Butlerov’s passion for spiritualism, which shocked his contemporaries, with which he first became acquainted back in 1854 at the Aksakovs’ Abramtsevo estate. Later, he became close to A.N. Aksakov (his wife’s cousin), who published the spiritualist journal “Psychical Research” (in 1889 Aksakov published “Collection of articles by A.M. Butlerov on mediumship”). Despite the condemnation of his 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.

Butlerov's fate as a scientist was successful. During his lifetime, his works received full recognition both in Russia and abroad, and without his scientific school (among his students are 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 he curved in the shape 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 Spassky district after a short and unexpected illness and was buried there, in the village cemetery (now Alekseevsky district of Tatarstan). The crypt containing his grave is in good condition. In Kazan there is Butlerov Street. 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 this time, an all-Union conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great chemist was held in Kazan. At Kazan University, Butlerov’s auditorium and office with his personal scientific library, laboratory and equipment of the 19th century, and substances obtained 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, there is a memorial plaque with his name.

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

See: A.M.Vutlerov. Based on materials from contemporaries. P.107-108.

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

Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich, whose brief biography is found in almost all chemistry textbooks, is a famous Russian chemist, the founder of the scientific school of organic chemistry, the founder of the theory of the structure of organic substances, who predicted and explained the isomerism of a large number of organic compounds and synthesized some of them (urotropine, formaldehyde polymer and etc.). Also, Alexander Mikhailovich, whose contribution to science was highly appreciated by D.I. Mendeleev, wrote works on beekeeping and agriculture.

Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich: short biography

The future scientist was born on September 15, 1828 in the family of a former military man, at that time a landowner. His father Mikhail Vasilyevich participated in the War of 1812, and after retirement he lived with his family in the family village of Butlerovka. Mom, Sofya Alexandrovna, died at the age of 19, immediately after the birth of her child. Alexander spent his childhood in Butlerovka and his grandfather’s estate - the village of Podlesnaya Shantala, where he was raised by his aunts. At the age of 10, the boy was sent to a private boarding school, where he mastered the French and German languages ​​well. In 1842, after a terrible fire in Kazan, the boarding school was closed, and Sasha was transferred to the 1st Kazan gymnasium. In these educational institutions, Butlerov collected insects and plants, was very interested in chemistry and conducted his first experiments. The result of one of them was an explosion, and Alexander’s punishment for what he had done was imprisonment in a punishment cell with a plaque on his chest reading “The Great Chemist.”

Student years

In 1844, Butlerov A.M., whose biography is permeated with a love of chemistry, became a student at Kazan University, which was at that time a center of natural scientific research. At first, the young man became very interested in zoology and botany, but then his interest, under the influence of lectures by K. K. Klaus and N. N. Zinin, spread to chemistry. On their advice, the young man organized a home laboratory, but the topic of his thesis, perhaps due to Zinin’s move to St. Petersburg, was butterflies.

After graduating from the university in 1849, Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov, who was petitioned by N.I. Lobachevsky and K.K. Klaus, devoted himself to teaching and lectured on physical geography, physics and chemistry. Moreover, Alexander Mikhailovich was an excellent speaker, able to command the undivided attention of the audience thanks to the clarity and rigor of his presentation. In addition to lectures within the university, Butlerov gave lectures available to the public. The Kazan public sometimes preferred these performances to fashionable ones. theatrical productions. He received his master's degree in 1851, and in the same year he married Nadezhda Mikhailovna Glumilina, the niece of Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov. After 3 years, he defended his doctoral dissertation at Moscow University on the topic “About Essential Oils.” After this, he was elected extraordinary at Kazan University, and a few years later ordinary professor of chemistry. From 1860 to 1863, against his own will, he twice acted as rector, and the rectorship was quite difficult period history of the university: the Kurtin memorial service and the Bezdnensky unrest that affected students and faculty.

Trip to Europe

Alexander Mikhailovich actively participated in the activities of the economic society of the city of Kazan, published articles on agriculture, botany and floriculture. The biography of Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov includes three trips abroad, the first of which took place in 1857-1858. The Russian scientist visited Europe, where he visited chemical industry enterprises and became acquainted with leading chemical laboratories. In one of them, in Paris, he worked for almost six months. During the same period, Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov listened to lectures by such outstanding European minds as A. Becquerel, E. Mitscherlich, J. Liebig, R. V. Bunsen, and made acquaintance with Friedrich August Kekule, a German chemist.

Upon returning to Kazan, A.M. Butlerov, whose biography is of interest not only in Russia but also abroad, re-equipped the chemical laboratory and continued the research on methylene derivatives begun by Wurtz. In 1858, the scientist discovered a new method for synthesizing methylene iodide and carried out a number of works related to the extraction of its derivatives. During the synthesis of methylene diacetate, a polymer of formaldehyde was obtained - a saponification product of the substance under study, the result of experiments on which was hexamethylenetetramine and methylenetinate. Thus, Butlerov was the first to produce a complete synthesis of a sugary substance.

Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich: briefly about the achievements of the scientist

In 1861, Butlerov spoke in Speyer, at the Congress of German Physicians and Naturalists, with a lecture “On the Chemical Structure of Matter,” which was based on his acquaintance with the state of chemistry abroad, an irresistible interest in the fundamentals of chemistry from a theoretical point of view, and his own experiments carried out throughout his scientific career.

His theory, which included ideas about the ability of carbon atoms to form chains by A. Cooper and on the valency of A. Kekule, assumed the chemical structure of molecules, by which the scientist understood the method of connecting atoms with each other depending on a certain amount of chemical force (affinity) inherent in each atom.

Important aspects of Butlerov's theory

The Russian scientist established a close connection between the structure and chemical properties of a complex organic compound, which was able to explain the isomerism of many of them, including three pentanes, two isomeric butanes, and various alcohols. Butlerov’s theory also made it possible to predict possible chemical revolutions and explain them.

Thus, in his theory, Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov:

• showed the insufficiency of the theories of chemistry that existed at that time;
• emphasized the most important atomicity;
• defined as the distribution of affinity forces belonging to atoms, as a result of which the atoms, exerting an influence on each other (mediocre or direct), combine into a chemical particle;
• identified 8 rules for the formation of chemical compounds;
• was the first to notice the difference reactionary abilities dissimilar compounds, explained by the lower or higher energy with which atoms combine, as well as the incomplete or complete consumption of affinity units when forming a bond.

Scientific achievements of the Russian chemist

The biography of Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov is briefly described in school textbooks, with the dates of his life and his greatest achievements. The Russian scientist has a huge number of experiments aimed at confirming his theory. The scientist, having previously synthesized, determined in 1864 the structure of tertiary in 1866 - isobutane, in 1867 - isobutylene. He also learned the structure of a number of ethylene carbons and polymerized them.

In 1867-1868 Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich, whose short biography arouses genuine interest among scientists around the world, was appointed professor of chemistry at St. Petersburg University. Introducing him to the staff of this institution, Mendeleev emphasized the originality of Butlerov’s teaching, which was not a continuation of anyone else’s works, but belonged to him personally.

In 1869, Butlerov finally settled in St. Petersburg, where he was elected extraordinary and then ordinary academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. The period of his life in St. Petersburg was very active: the professor continued his experiments, polished the theory of chemical structure, and participated in public life.

Hobbies in the life of a scientist

In 1873, he began studying and gave lectures on this topic. Posted first in scientific history a guide based on the theory of chemical structure - “Introduction to a complete study of organic chemistry.” Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov is the founder of the school of Russian chemists, otherwise called the “Butlerov school.” In parallel with the study of chemistry, I was actively interested in agriculture. In particular, he was interested in growing tea in the Caucasus, gardening and beekeeping. His brochures “How to Keep Bees” and “The Bee, Its Life and the Main Rules of Intelligent Beekeeping” were reprinted many times, and in 1886 he founded the magazine “Russian Beekeeping List”.

In 1880-1883 Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich, whose short biography is interesting and replete with important discoveries for science, was the president of the Russian Physico-Technical Society. During the same period, the scientist became very interested in spiritualism, which he became acquainted with at the Aksakov estate in 1854. Later he became close friends with his wife’s cousin A.N. Aksakov, who published the journal on spiritualism “Psychical Research,” and passionately defended his passion to his acquaintances and friends who condemned him.

The value of the works of Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov for chemistry

Alexander Mikhailovich was supposed to retire in 1875, after 25 years of service. The Council of St. Petersburg University twice extended this period by 5 years. The last lecture of Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov took place on March 14, 1885. His health failed, undermined by intensive scientific work and social activities: unexpectedly for everyone, Butlerov died on his estate on August 5, 1886. The scientist was buried in the rural cemetery of his native Butlerovka, now defunct, in the family chapel.

Butlerov’s works received worldwide recognition during his lifetime; his scientific school is considered an integral component of the development of chemistry in Russia, and the biography of Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov arouses genuine interest among scientists and students. Alexander Mikhailovich himself was a very charming and versatile person with a sociable character, open-mindedness, good nature and a condescending attitude towards his students.

BIOGRAPHY

Alexander Butlerov is known primarily as a talented scientist who created the theory of chemical structure and an entire direction in chemical science. However, his interests were not limited to science alone, as we will talk about a little later.

Chemistry
Biographers debate about the place of birth of the world-famous organic chemist, but most often they name Chistopol. It cannot be said that Sasha was interested in chemistry from childhood, although he already tried to conduct chemical experiments in the gymnasium. He also collected collections of butterflies and plants. He was drawn more to natural disciplines than to the humanities. After graduating from the gymnasium - one of the best in Kazan - at the age of 16, Alexander became a student in the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Kazan University, where, in fact, he developed as a scientist.

It is not known how it would have turned out scientific career, if not for Nikolai Zinin, who taught a course in organic chemistry at the university and involved Sasha in practical classes in the laboratory. True, Zinin later left for St. Petersburg, but by this time Butlerov had already decided on his scientific interests. And the fact that the young scientist was left without a scientific guide turned out to be quite useful. Left to his own devices, Alexander did what he wanted and discovered a fundamentally new direction in the chemical science of that time. By doing magic in a university laboratory, he managed to synthetically obtain a sugary substance. German chemist Emil Fischer later testified: “Among all the artificial sugar products reported in the literature before 1887, only one has stood the test of time. This is sugar syrup obtained by A.M. Butlerov.”

At the age of 29, Butlerov was already elected professor at Kazan University. This allowed him to go on a business trip abroad to Paris. There he again surprised everyone by obtaining methylene iodide in Wurtz’s laboratory; no one had succeeded in this before. Upon returning to Kazan, the young scientist begins to develop a new direction in his research - the theory of chemical structure. And three years later, at the congress of German naturalists, he made an extensive report, which resonated throughout the European scientific community. The name Butlerov became well known not only among Russian chemists, but also among European ones.

In 1868, Butlerov moved to the department of organic chemistry at St. Petersburg University, where he worked for 17 years, and then was elected academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. However, as Mendeleev rightly noted, “the student of the famous academician Zinin... became a chemist not in foreign lands, but in Kazan.”

Policy
Butlerov was a scientist, completely immersed in science. Before moving to St. Petersburg, he was twice elected rector of Kazan University. But the rectorship was a burden to him, and he did not know how to get rid of it. And yet, the scientist was often distracted from his scientific studies and did completely different things, even giving them preference for some time. For three years, Butlerov was a member of the Kazan provincial and Spassky district zemstvo assemblies, participated in the construction of a water supply system in Kazan, and was elected to various commissions on public education and medicine, gave public lectures on magnetism, which was extremely fashionable in those years, and wrote articles for newspapers about women's equality... The editor of the Kazan Provincial Gazette, S.M. Shpilevsky, called him “the best decoration” of Kazan.

Having moved to St. Petersburg and becoming an academician, Alexander Mikhailovich devoted all his efforts to “Russification” national science. Not many people probably know that Russian became the official language of the Russian Academy of Sciences only in 1841, and scientific articles were published in German and French for a long time. The tradition laid down by Peter I and Catherine II, who invited European scientists to Russia, who, in general, stood at the origins of Russian science, was very strong. But in the 19th century the situation changed: in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kazan their own prominent scientists and entire scientific schools began to appear. But Russian Academy Sciences continued to be formed mainly by scientists with foreign names. A real struggle unfolded, in which both the imperial court and influential dignitaries were involved. Alexander Butlerov did not stand aside either.

In 1882, he published a critical article “Russian or only the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg?” in the newspaper "Rus". Butlerov gave a lot of examples of the clampdown on Russian scientists. Thus, the K.M. Baer Prize was awarded to the Dorpat botanist E. Russov, and not I. I. Mechnikov. Instead of M.A. Kovalsky and F.A. Bredikhin, the young Swedish astronomer O.A. Backlund, who did not speak Russian at all, was elected as adjunct. Ordinary academician G.I. Wild was also not fluent in Russian.

Butlerov set out to promote his talented colleague Mendeleev to academic status, who had long earned this right with his remarkable works and discoveries. However, he faced the irresistible force of the bureaucratic machine. As his biographers note, “apparently, Alexander Mikhailovich, having spent four years at the Academy of Sciences, and before that twice, albeit briefly, occupying the chair of the rector of Kazan University, never realized that in bureaucratic spheres any more or less sensitive issue is first resolved in a narrow circle of interested parties, and only then, in case of emergency, put it up for public discussion.”

In general, D.I. Mendeleev was voted out when elected to the Academy of Sciences in November 1880. What they didn’t say about this! And they remembered the machinations of the “German party” and the obstinate character of the scientist...

But by the end of the 19th century, Russian science was already firmly on its feet, and the achievements of domestic scientists were nevertheless appreciated.

PERSONAL LIFE

Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov was married to Nadezhda Mikhailovna Glumilina, the niece of the famous writer S.T. Aksakov.

EDUCATION

1st Kazan gymnasium,
Kazan University

LABOR ACTIVITY

After graduating from Kazan University (1849), Alexander Butlerov lectured here 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 1860-63, Alexander Butlerov twice served as rector of Kazan University.
In January 1869, Alexander Butlerov moved to St. Petersburg, where he was elected extraordinary (1871) and then ordinary (1874) academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
In 1880-83, Alexander Butlerov was president of the Russian Physico-Chemical Society.

SCIENTIFIC WORKS

Daytime butterflies of the Volga-Ural fauna. - Kazan: type. Imp. Kazansk University, 1848. - 60 p.
Report on the experience of transforming oats into rye // Notes of the Kazan Economic Society, 1855, part 2, dep. 2. - pp. 109-112.
Introduction to the complete study of organic chemistry, c. 1-3, Kazan, 1864-1866.
The bee, its life and the main rules of smart beekeeping. A short guide for bees, mainly for peasants. - St. Petersburg, 1871.
Articles on beekeeping. - St. Petersburg, 1891.
Selected works on organic chemistry. - M., 1951 (bib. of works on chemistry).
Works: In 3 volumes - M., 1953-1958 (bib. of works).
Scientific and pedagogical activity: Collection of documents. - M., 1961.

In 1851 Butlerov defended his master's thesis “On the oxidation of organic compounds”, and in 1854 at Moscow University - his doctoral thesis “On essential oils”

In 1864-66 in Kazan, Butlerov published the textbook “Introduction to the complete study of organic chemistry”

He wrote a number of sensational articles: “The modern significance of the theory of chemical structure” (1879), “Russian or only the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg?” (1882).

He outlined the main provisions of his theory in a report “On the Chemical Structure of Matter,” read in the chemical section of the Congress of German Naturalists and Doctors in Speyer (September 1861).

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

In 1953, a monument to Butlerov was unveiled in front of the building of the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University.
In 1970, in honor of A.M. Butlerov named a crater on the Moon.
In 1978, an artistically marked envelope dedicated to the scientist was published.
Faculty of Chemistry of Kazan Federal University was transformed into the Chemical Institute named after. A. M. Butlerov after the merger with NIHI named after. A. M. Butlerov in 2002.
There are Butlerov streets in Kazan, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Daugavpils, Kyiv, Dzerzhinsk, Chistopol (Tatarstan), Volgograd.

Bees were not only Butlerov’s enduring hobby, but, so to speak, his life’s credo. In the tireless diligence of these beneficial insects, their amazing organization of collective work, the scientist found a sample of the device own life and all of communal Russia. The product that bees produce, according to the scientist, could serve as the basis for the material well-being of millions of Russian peasants. It was only necessary to organize the matter correctly and wisely on the scale of the entire empire.

And he considered the press to be his main assistant here. With the arrival of the famous chemist in the Free Economic Society, his publication “Proceedings” became the central organ of Russian beekeepers. Butlerov’s book “The Bee, Its Life and the Main Rules of Intelligent Beekeeping” has become a reference book for many and has gone through 11 editions. In 1880, Butlerov’s article “Beekeeping as a means of national income” appeared in the influential newspaper “Novoe Vremya.” The author argued that beekeeping is exactly the kind of business that can help a peasant farm get on its feet, since it does not require large investments.

And since 1886, Alexander Mikhailovich began to publish his own magazine “Russian Beekeeping Leaflet” in St. Petersburg.

Butlerov was known not only as a beekeeper, but also as a talented botanist. He conducted various experiments in his greenhouses in Kazan and Butlerovka, wrote articles on the problems of gardening, floriculture and agriculture.

Alexander Butlerov tried to lead healthy image life and always had a cheerful appearance. This is how zoologist N.P. Wagner describes his portrait: “He... was quite tall and strongly built, sanguine... a handsome man, blond, with blue, somewhat narrowed eyes, with a rather long, somewhat reddish nose, with a prominent chin and a constant a friendly smile on thin, rosy lips.” However, on August 5, 1886, at the age of 58, the academician suddenly died on his Butlerovka estate.

Later, a brick chapel appeared in the rural cemetery, near Butlerov’s burial, and in Kazan, not far from the university, a monument.

Butlerov's biography, which you will read in this article, is marked by the creation of a theory. This theory still underlies the science of the nature of chemical compounds.

Butlerov’s biography begins in 1828, when Alexander Mikhailovich was born in the small village of Butlerovka, located near Kazan. This event took place on his father's estate.

Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich: childhood

Alexander did not remember his mother, since she died 11 days after the birth of his son. His father was an educated man, and the future scientist wanted to be like him in everything. At first the boy went to a boarding school, and then began to study at the First Kazan Gymnasium. In that educational institution there were very experienced teachers who knew how to arouse interest in their subjects. Alexander found his studies easy, and he was especially attracted to natural sciences.

Classes at Kazan University, moving to Kazan

Contrary to his father’s wishes, after graduating from high school, Alexander Mikhailovich decided to become a student in the natural science department of the university in Kazan. A year later, in 1845, he was accepted into the first year. At this time the young man turned 17 years old.

Butlerov's biography was marked in 1846 by an unpleasant event - he fell ill with typhus. The guy miraculously survived, but his father, who became infected from him, died. Butlerov moved with his aunt to Kazan in the fall. At the university, he studied diligently, but soon noticed that what he liked most were the lectures on chemistry. He was not satisfied with the lectures of Professor Klaus, so he began to attend classes taught by Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin. The latter, observing Alexander during laboratory work, noticed that he was gifted.

Defense of the candidate's work

To receive a candidate's degree, Alexander Mikhailovich had to submit a dissertation upon graduation. Zinin by this time had left for St. Petersburg from Kazan. Therefore, Alexander had to take up the natural sciences. He prepared an article for his candidate’s work entitled “Day butterflies of the Volga-Ural fauna.” But after some time, circumstances turned out to be such that Butlerov nevertheless returned to chemistry.

Work at Kazan University

After receiving his degree, Alexander remained to work at Klaus, the only professor of chemistry, could not conduct all the classes himself and needed an assistant, which Alexander Mikhailovich became. Butlerov passed the exams in the fall of 1850 and became a master of chemistry. He immediately began working on his doctoral dissertation on the topic of essential oils. Butlerov defended this work early next year. Simultaneously with the preparation of lectures, Alexander Mikhailovich began a thorough study

Butlerov botanist

Butlerov’s biography interests not only chemists, but also botanists. Alexander Mikhailovich conducted experiments in his greenhouses located in Butlerovka and Kazan. Also wrote articles on the topics of floriculture, gardening and agriculture Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich. A photo of the monument to Alexander Mikhailovich, located in Kazan, near the university, is presented below.

Doctorate, travel abroad, contribution to chemistry

Butlerov received his doctorate in physics and chemistry on June 4, 1854. Immediately after this, he was appointed to the position of acting professor of chemistry at his native Kazan University. By the beginning of 1857, Butlerov was already a professor. That same year, in the summer, he received permission to go on a business trip abroad.

Alexander Mikhailovich arrived in Berlin at the end of summer. After some time, he continued traveling through Germany, Italy, Switzerland and France. Paris was the final destination of the trip. At that time it was the world center for the study of chemistry. Butlerov was attracted mainly by his meeting with Adolf Wurtz. Alexander Butlerov worked in his laboratory for 2 months. The chemist began to conduct his experiments here. After some time, his research bore first fruit. Over the next 20 years, Alexander Butlerov discovered dozens of reactions and substances. His contribution to chemistry was simply enormous. In addition, his exemplary syntheses of ethylene and ethanol, tertiary alcohols, dinzobutylene, trioxymethylene, and urotropine are at the origins of a number of industries. They had a stimulating influence on her development. As you can see, Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov did a lot for science and industry. His achievements are difficult to overestimate. Let us now talk about the theory created by this chemist.

Butlerov's theory

Butlerov, studying hydrocarbons, realized that this is a separate class of chemicals. The scientist, analyzing their properties and structure, noticed a strict pattern that formed the basis of the theory of chemical structure created by him.

Butlerov's report at the Paris Academy of Sciences was met with interest. A lively debate began. A few years later, during his 2nd business trip abroad, Alexander Mikhailovich presented the theory he had created. He made a report at the 36th Congress of Doctors and Naturalists in Speyer, held in September 1861. Butlerov read his report on the topic “Something about the chemical structure of bodies.” The scientist introduced the audience to his new theory of the structure of organic substances. He said that every atom that is part of a body takes part in its formation and acts with forces directed towards the atoms surrounding it. It is because of this effect that atoms bond into a molecule, a chemical particle. He called chemical structure the distribution of the action of these forces, which leads to the connection of atoms. Thus, complex particles have a chemical basis, which is determined by nature components, their chemical structure and quantity.

Let us note that even before Butlerov, the term “chemical structure” was encountered in the literature. However, the scientist rethought it and began to use it to define a new concept. The theory of chemical structure is the basis of all branches of modern synthetic chemistry.

Preparation of trimethylcarbinol

The happiest year in Butlerov’s life can be considered 1863. By acting on acetyl chloride with dimethylzinc, the scientist for the first time in history obtained tertiary, otherwise called trimethylcarbinol. Soon after this, reports appeared in the literature on the synthesis of butyl alcohols, primary and secondary. Isobutyl alcohol has been around since 1852. Then it was first isolated from vegetable oil. Now there could be no question of any dispute, since there were 4 butyl alcohols, each of which was an isomer. This was a real triumph for structural theory.

Tautomerism theory

The main position of the new theory put forward by Butlerov, now the reversible isomerization of tautomerism, dates back to the period from 1862 to 1865. Its author believed that its mechanism consists in the splitting of molecules with the same structure and the combination of their residues to form new molecules with a different structure. The scientist spoke about the need to apply a dynamic approach to chemical processes. In other words, they should be considered as equilibrium. The authority of Alexander Mikhailovich as the author of the theory of tautomerism was recognized even by Peter Laar, a German chemist who introduced the word “tautomerism” itself into circulation.

Chemistry textbook

Now Butlerov’s task was to apply his structural theory to all compounds and reactions of organic chemistry, and also to create a new textbook on organic chemistry. In the textbook, all phenomena should be considered through the prism of the theory created by him. Butlerov worked on its creation for almost 2 years. Alexander Mikhailovich’s book “Introduction to the Complete Study of Organic Chemistry” was published in three editions (from 1864 to 1866). It was far superior to all textbooks known at that time. Butlerov's work caused a revolution in science. Already in 1867, preparations began for the translation and publication of this book in German. Then translations appeared in other major European languages.

Holidays in Butlerovka, work at St. Petersburg University

After finishing work on the book, Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov was increasingly on his estate. His family came here several times a week. The youngest son, Volodya, who was 2 years old, loved to play in the meadow located near the house. Butlerov Alexander Mikhailovich also loved to relax here. Interesting Facts about him include a passion for growing flowers, as well as creating a collection of insects.

Butlerov now spent less time in the laboratory, but followed the discoveries of scientists. On the initiative of Mendeleev, in the spring of 1868, Alexander was invited to work at St. Petersburg University. Here he began to give lectures and also organized his own chemical laboratory. The scientist created a new teaching method. He proposed a laboratory workshop, now accepted everywhere. During classes, students learned to work with chemical equipment.

Obtaining isobutylene

Butlerov continued his research in which he developed the structural theory. He wanted to prove that all types of organic compounds can have straight and branched carbon chains. This assumption followed from his theory. However, it was necessary to prove this in practice. Finally, the efforts of Alexander Mikhailovich were crowned with success. He received the long-awaited isobutylene. Thus, the presence of a branched hydrocarbon chain was proven.

Involvement in the public life of St. Petersburg

Butlerov, in addition to being actively involved in the public life of the Russian capital. The progressive public of that time was especially concerned about the issue of women's education. It was necessary for women to gain access to higher education. For this purpose, Higher Women's Courses were created at the Medical-Surgical Academy. In addition, the Bestuzhev Women's Courses were organized, at which Alexander Mikhailovich gave his lectures on chemistry.

Membership in the Academy of Sciences

The activities of this scientist were noted by the Academy of Sciences. Butlerov was elected an extraordinary academician in 1871, and 3 years later - an ordinary one. Thanks to this, he received an apartment in a building owned by the academy. Zinin Nikolai Nikolaevich also lived here. The long-standing friendship with him was further strengthened by the close proximity.

last years of life

The life and work of Alexander Butlerov until recent years were connected with science. However, the years passed, and classes with students became too difficult for Butlerov. The scientist decided to leave the university. He gave a farewell lecture on April 4, 1880. This decision was met with deep sorrow. It is known that the academic council asked Alexander Mikhailovich to stay. He was elected for another 5 years.

Butlerov limited his activities at the university as much as possible. He taught only the main course and conducted classes in the laboratory several times a week. On August 5, 1886, Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov died from blockage of blood vessels. A photo of the chapel at Butlerov’s grave is presented above.

Alexander Butlerov was born in 1828 in Butlerovka, a small village near Kazan, where his father’s estate was located. Sasha did not remember his mother; she died eleven days after his birth. Raised by his father, an educated man, Sasha wanted to be like him in everything.

At first he went to a boarding school, and then entered the First Kazan Gymnasium, whose teachers were very experienced, well prepared, and they knew how to interest students. Sasha easily learned the material, since he early childhood he was accustomed to systematic work. He was especially attracted to the natural sciences.

After graduating from high school, against the wishes of his father, Sasha entered the natural science department of Kazan University, although for now only as a student, since he was still a minor. Only the following year, 1845, when the young man turned 17 years old, did Butlerov’s name appear on the list of those admitted to the first year.

In 1846, Alexander fell ill with typhus and miraculously survived, but his father, who became infected from him, died. In the fall, together with their aunt, they moved to Kazan. Gradually, youth took its toll, and Sasha’s health and fun returned. Young Butlerov studied with exceptional diligence, but, to his surprise, he noticed that the lectures on chemistry gave him the greatest pleasure. Professor Klaus's lectures did not satisfy him, and he began to regularly attend lectures by Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin, which were given to students of the physics and mathematics department. Very soon, Zinin, observing Alexander during laboratory work, noticed that this fair-haired student was unusually gifted and could become a good researcher.

Butlerov studied successfully, but increasingly thought about his future, not knowing what he should ultimately choose. Do you want to study biology? There is so much that is unknown in this area! But on the other hand, doesn't the lack of a clear understanding of organic reactions offer endless possibilities for research?

To receive a candidate's academic degree, Butlerov had to submit a dissertation upon graduation. By this time, Zinin had left Kazan for St. Petersburg and he had no choice but to study the natural sciences. For his PhD thesis, Butlerov prepared an article “Day butterflies of the Volga-Ural fauna.” However, circumstances were such that Alexander still had to return to chemistry.

After approval by the Council scientific degree Butlerov remained to work at the university. The only chemistry professor, Klaus, could not teach all the classes himself and needed an assistant. Butlerov became it. In the fall of 1850, Butlerov passed the exams for a master's degree in chemistry and immediately began his doctoral dissertation “On Essential Oils,” which he defended early next year. In parallel with the preparation of lectures, Butlerov began a detailed study of the history of chemical science. The young scientist worked hard in his office, in the laboratory, and at home.

According to his aunts, their old apartment was uncomfortable, so they rented another, more spacious one, from Sofia Timofeevna Aksakova, an energetic and determined woman. She accepted Butlerov with maternal care, seeing in him a suitable match for her daughter. Despite his constant employment at the university, Alexander Mikhailovich remained a cheerful and sociable person. He was by no means distinguished by the notorious “professorial absent-mindedness,” and his friendly smile and ease of manner made him a welcome guest everywhere. Sofya Timofeevna noted with satisfaction that the young scientist was clearly not indifferent to Nadenka. The girl was really pretty, with a high, intelligent forehead, large sparkling eyes, stern, regular facial features and some kind of special charm. The young people became good friends, and over time they began to increasingly feel the need to be together and share their innermost thoughts. Soon Nadezhda Mikhailovna Glumilina is the niece of the writer S.T. Aksakova became the wife of Alexander Mikhailovich.

Butlerov was known not only as an outstanding chemist, but also as a talented botanist. He conducted various experiments in his greenhouses in Kazan and Butlerovka, wrote articles on the problems of gardening, floriculture and agriculture. With rare patience and love, he watched the development of delicate camellias and lush roses, and developed new varieties of flowers. When leaving home, he never forgot to cut the best flowers for his wife.

On June 4, 1854, Butlerov received confirmation that he had been awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Chemistry and Physics. Events unfolded with incredible speed. Immediately upon receipt doctorate Butlerov was appointed acting professor of chemistry at Kazan University. At the beginning of 1857, he already became a professor, and in the child of the same year he received permission to travel abroad.

Butlerov arrived in Berlin at the end of summer. He then continued to tour Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France. The final destination of his journey was Paris, the world center of chemical science at that time. He was attracted, first of all, by his meeting with Adolf Wurtz. Butlerov worked in Wurtz's laboratory for two months. It was here that he began his experimental research, which over the next twenty years culminated in the discovery of dozens of new substances and reactions. Butlerov's numerous exemplary syntheses of ethanol and ethylene, dinzobutylene, tertiary alcohols, methenamine, trioxymethylene, and the polymerization of ethylene hydrocarbons lie at the origins of a number of industries and, thus, had a very direct stimulating effect on it.

While studying hydrocarbons, Butlerov realized that they represent a completely special class of chemicals. Analyzing their structure and properties, the scientist noticed that there is a strict pattern here. It formed the basis of the theory of chemical structure he created.

His report at the Paris Academy of Sciences aroused general interest and lively debate. Butlerov said:

“The ability of atoms to connect with each other varies. Particularly interesting in this regard is carbon, which, according to August Kekule, is tetravalent. If you imagine valence in the form of tentacles with the help of which atoms bond with each other, one cannot help but notice that the method of bonding is reflected in the properties of the corresponding compounds.

Perhaps the time has come when our research should become the basis of a new theory of the chemical structure of substances. This theory will be distinguished by the accuracy of mathematical laws and will allow one to predict the properties of organic compounds.” No one has expressed such thoughts until now.

A few years later, during his second trip abroad, Butlerov presented the theory he had created for discussion. He made a report at the 36th Congress of German Naturalists and Doctors in Speyer.

The congress took place in September 1861. He made a presentation to the chemical section. The topic had a more than modest title: “Something about the chemical structure of bodies.”

Butlerov spoke simply and clearly. Without going into unnecessary details, he introduced the audience to a new theory of the chemical structure of organic substances: his report aroused unprecedented interest.

"Every chemical atom, which is part of the body, participates in its formation and acts with certain forces. These forces influence the surrounding atoms, as a result of which the latter bind into a chemical particle-molecule. The distribution of the action of these forces, leading to the connection of atoms in a certain order, I call chemical structure. It follows that the chemical nature of complex particles is determined by the nature of its elementary components, their quantity and chemical structure.”

The term “chemical structure” had been found in the literature before Butlerov, but he rethought it and used it to define a new concept of the order of interatomic bonds in molecules. The theory of chemical structure now serves as the fundamental basis of all modern branches of synthetic chemistry without exception; All engineers and technicians think in the categories of structural chemistry, create new industries, and design.

So, the theory declared its right to exist. She demanded further development, and where, if not in Kazan, should this be done, because a new theory was born there, its creator worked there? For Butlerov, rector's duties turned out to be a heavy and unbearable burden. He asked several times to be relieved of this position, but all his requests remained unsatisfied. His worries did not leave him at home either. Only in the garden, tending to his favorite flowers, did he forget the worries and troubles of the past day. He never tired of admiring the camellias and roses he grew with his own hands. His son Misha often worked with him in the garden; Alexander Mikhailovich asked the boy about events at school and told interesting details about flowers.

The year 1863 came - the happiest year in the life of the great scientist. Butlerov was on the right track. By acting with dimethylzinc on acetyl chloride, he managed for the first time in the history of chemistry to obtain the simplest tertiary alcohol - tertiary butyl alcohol, or trimethylcarbinol. Soon after this, reports appeared in the literature about the successful synthesis of primary and secondary butyl alcohols.

Scientists have known about isobutyl alcohol since 1852, when it was first isolated from natural vegetable oil. Now there could be no question of any dispute, since there were four different butyl alcohols, and all of them were isomers.

What a triumph of structural theory it was! And how happy its author was. The triumph of Butlerov's theory of the chemical structure of organic compounds was the correct explanation of the phenomena of isomerism on the basis of this theory. In the article “On various ways of explaining certain cases of isomerism,” published in 1863 in German and in 1864 in French, Butlerov concluded: “If substances with the same composition differ in properties, then they must also differ
and its chemical structure." The best confirmation of Butlerov’s doctrine of isomerism was the synthesis of the theoretically predicted isomers of isobutane and isobutylene.

In 1862-1865, Butlerov expressed the main position of the theory of reversible isomerization of tautomerism, the mechanism of which, according to Butlerov, is the splitting of molecules of one structure and the combination of their residues to form molecules of a different structure. It was a brilliant idea. The great scientist argued for the need for a dynamic approach to chemical processes, that is, the need to consider them as equilibrium. Butlerov’s priority as the author of the theory of tautomerism was not denied even by the German chemist Peter Laar, who coined the term “tautomerism.”

Success brought confidence to the scientist, but at the same time presented him with a new, more difficult task. It was necessary to apply the structural theory to all reactions and compounds of organic chemistry, and most importantly, to write a new textbook on organic chemistry, where all phenomena would be considered from the point of view of the new theory of structure.

Butlerov worked on the textbook for almost two years without a break. The book “An Introduction to the Complete Study of Organic Chemistry” was published in three editions in 1864-1866. It could not be compared with any of the textbooks known at that time. This inspired work was a revelation of Butlerov - a chemist, experimenter and philosopher, who reconstructed all the material accumulated by science according to a new principle, according to the principle of chemical structure.

The book caused a real revolution in chemical science. Already in 1867, work began on its translation and publication in German. Soon after this, publications were published on almost all major European languages. According to the German researcher Victor Meyer, it became “the guiding light in the vast majority of research in the field of organic chemistry.”

Since Alexander Mikhailovich finished working on the textbook, he increasingly spent time in Butlerovka. Even during the school year, the family visited the village several times a week. The youngest son, two-year-old Volodya, played all day in the meadow near the house. Butlerov felt free from worries here and devoted himself entirely to his favorite hobbies: flowers and insect collections.

Now Butlerov worked less in the laboratory, but closely followed new discoveries. In the spring of 1868, on the initiative of the famous chemist Mendeleev, Alexander Mikhailovich was invited to St. Petersburg University, where he began giving lectures and had the opportunity to organize his own chemical laboratory. Butlerov developed a new method of teaching students, now offering it everywhere
an accepted laboratory workshop in which students were taught how to work with a variety of chemical equipment.

In his research, Butlerov continued to develop structural theory. He set out to prove that all types of organic compounds can have branched and straight carbon chains. This followed directly from the theory, but the theoretical provisions had to be proven in practice. Is it not possible to obtain a hydrocarbon, for example butane, the four carbon atoms of which would be connected to each other not in series, but in the same way as they are connected in trimethyl carbinol? But to
find correct method its synthesis required many experiments.

And finally, Butlerov’s efforts were crowned with success. The large flask contained the long-awaited isobutylene. The existence of a branched chain of hydrocarbons has been proven!

Simultaneously with his scientific activities, Butlerov is actively involved in the social life of St. Petersburg. At that time, the progressive public was especially concerned about the issue of women's education. Women should have free access to higher education! Higher Women's Courses were organized at the Medical-Surgical Academy, and classes began at the Bestuzhev Women's Courses, where Butlerov lectured on chemistry.

Butlerov's multifaceted scientific activity was recognized by the Academy of Sciences. In 1871 he was elected extraordinary academician, and three years later - ordinary academician, which gave him the right to receive an apartment in the Academy building. Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin also lived there. The close proximity further strengthened the long-standing friendship.

The years passed inexorably. Working with students became too difficult for him, and Butlerov decided to leave the university. He gave a farewell lecture on April 4, 1880 to second-year students. They greeted the news of the departure of their beloved professor with deep sadness. The Academic Council decided to ask Butlerov to stay and elected him for another five years.

The scientist decided to limit his activities at the university to only reading the main course. And yet he appeared in the laboratory several times a week and supervised the work.

Throughout his life, Butlerov carried another passion - beekeeping. On his estate he organized an exemplary apiary, and in last years life is a real school for peasant beekeepers. Butlerov was almost more proud of his book “The Bee, Its Life and the Rules of Intelligent Beekeeping” than his scientific works.

Butlerov believed that a real scientist should also be a popularizer of his science. In parallel with scientific articles, he published publicly available brochures in which he spoke vividly and colorfully about his discoveries. He completed the last of them just six months before his death.