Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov is an important person in Russian science. A talented person is talented in everything. By his example, he proved the reliability of this expression. Honored Academician and Professor Sechenov, the father of Russian physiology, worked in various fields - physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, was engaged in instrumentation, educational activities and much more. Sechenovās biography is briefly described in this article. His scientific achievements are not deprived of attention.
Children's years Sechenov
Biography of Ivan Sechenov originates in a small village in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Then, back in 1829, it was called Teply Stan, today the birthplace of the scientist bears his name - Sechenovo.
On August 13, 1829, our hero was born in the family of Mikhail and Anisya Sechenovs. As it was then established, many children were born in the family. So Mikhail Ivanovich Sechenov, whose biography is presented in the article, was the ninth child.
The father of the future genius was from a noble family, and Anisya Egorovna was the daughter of serfs. The Yegorovs lived not richly, but in unison. There was enough bread for everyone, and the nanny Nastasya helped in raising the children of the family. It is her in her biography that Sechenov recalls with special warmth. The nanny knew many interesting tales and was very kind to children.
In 1839, a tragedy happened in the biography of I.M.Sechenov - his father died. Life has become much more difficult. Older brothers took care of the household. Despite the social status of the family, everyone worked in it - from small to large, but money became less and less. That is why Ivan was not sent to school. Nevertheless, the boy received a good education at home.
Older brothers noticed Ivan's extraordinary abilities and decided on his training at an engineering school. Until the age of fourteen, Sechenov's biography is associated with the house and native village. Natural sciences, grammar and mathematics were taught by his mother. Ivan is the only one from the family who learned foreign languages. Even then, an outstanding future was prophesied to the young genius.
Education of the future genius
At the age of fourteen, Ivan Sechenov, with a brief biography of whom you are acquainted, moved to Petersburg to study at the Main Engineering School. This institution had the status of a military university, all of its students took the oath.
The training lasted 6 years: four junior classes and two officers. Sechenov studied trigonometry, mathematics, drawing, analytical mechanics, and even French literature at the school. But most of all he was fascinated by physics. A little later, chemistry was added to the number of favorite subjects.
At the same time, teachers noted Sechenov's outstanding abilities to mathematics.
First achievements
In 1848, Ivan Sechenov graduated from the school with the rank of ensign and was sent to Kiev. Here, for two years, he served in the second reserve combat engineer battalion. The future luminary of medicine understood that he did not feel much love for military affairs. Just at that time in the biography of I.M.Sechenov there was an acquaintance with the beautiful widow Olga Alexandrovna. The lady was educated and was in love with medicine.
In his biography Sechenov briefly recalls this girl and her influence on his life:
I entered her house as a young man who was swimming so inertly along the channel into which fate had thrown me, without a clear consciousness of where it could lead me, and I left her house with a ready life plan, knowing where to go and what to do. Who, if not she, led me out of a position that could become a dead loop for me, indicating the possibility of an exit. To what, if not to her suggestions, I owe that I went to the university - and it is precisely the one that she considered advanced! - to study medicine and help someone else. It is possible, finally, that a certain part of her influence was reflected in my later service to the interests of women who made their way onto an independent path.
In 1950, our hero entered the medical faculty of Moscow University and attended lectures as a free listener. Sechenov's medical theory, which was taught at the university, quickly disappointed, but he perfectly mastered biology. In addition to specialized lectures, Ivan Mikhailovich, who was eager to study, listened to lectures on theology, philosophy, deontology, and history. Soon the circle of his interests expanded. He became seriously interested in psychology and physiology.
Ivan Sechenov studied very willingly and diligently. He independently studied at times more than what the teachers asked. The professors noticed the outstanding abilities of Ivan Mikhailovich and suggested that he take a full course of training at the faculty of physiology and anatomy. Such zeal and zeal allowed our hero to graduate with honors and get a doctorās degree.
When our hero was in his fourth year, another tragedy happened in Sechenovās biography. His mother died. After her death, Ivan received a good inheritance and firmly decided to realize his motherās dream. Anisya Egorovna dreamed that her son would become an outstanding scientist, professor.
Moving Abroad
In 1856, after graduating from the university, Ivan Sechenov left for Berlin, where he continued his studies. In Germany, a certified physician studies specialized subjects for a year. During this time, he managed to work in the laboratories of such famous scientists as Ernst Weber, Johann Muller, K. Ludwig.
Then our hero went to Paris, where he worked in the laboratory of the outstanding endocrinologist Claude Bernard. It was there that Sechenov made the discovery of the mechanisms that are present in the frogās brain, which the scientist called the mechanisms of central inhibition.
A little later, he introduced society to the term "reflex", publishing his work "Reflexes of the brain."
By the way, with the beginning of his career and scientific work, the scientist published many scientific articles and made a lot of important discoveries.
Homecoming and the heyday of a career
In 1860, Ivan Sechenov, whose biography is examined by us, returned to Petersburg, where he received a doctorate in medical sciences. He worked at the Academy for ten years, then moved to the laboratory of his friend Mendeleev.
After 1871, Sechenov changed many laboratories and institutes. He worked as head of the Department of Physiology in Odessa, was a professor at St. Petersburg University. And then he organized his own laboratory, in which he developed questions of physiology.
In 1889, Ivan Mikhailovich was awarded the title of President of the 1st International Psychological Congress, which was held in the capital of France. In the same year he became a privat-docent at the University of Moscow.
In 1907, Ivan Sechenev officially resigned as a professor of physiology. Nevertheless, for a long time he continued to engage in scientific research and teach students.
Outstanding achievements of the scientist
This scientist is rightly considered the father of Russian physiology. He owns many discoveries, among which:
- The invention of the āblood pumpā (used to study the effect of alcohol on blood).
- Creation of the First Russian physiological laboratory.
- Great influence on the development of Darwin's theory and its distribution in Russia.
- The phenomenon of Sechenov inhibition.
Thanks to Ivan Sechenov, whose brief biography is considered today, physiology has become a separate science, clinical discipline.
Professorās personal life
Sechenov's wife was a young and ambitious girl Maria Alexandrovna Bokova, whom he met after returning to Russia. Maria dreamed of doing research in the field of medicine. In those days, it was almost impossible for a woman. Sechenov fought against discrimination of the beautiful half of humanity and helped his beloved write and defend a dissertation. Later, scientists created a strong union.
His name is given to his native village, streets, educational institutions.
After retiring, Ivan Sechenov lived another four years. The luminary of medicine died in 1905, leaving behind many scientific works and discoveries.