THE EMINENT MICROBIOLOGIST AND PEDOLOGIST ALEXANDRE FEDOROVICH LEBEDEV (ON THE 130TH ANNIVERSARY)

Abstract

The eminent Russian scientist A.F. Lebedev (1882-1936) is a man of extraordinary and tragic fate, who made a great contribution in the development of both microbiology and soil science. In microbiology he discovered the bacterial chemosynthesis, based on the oxidation of H2, and the heterotrophic fixation of CO2. His fundamental contribution in soil science is linked with the famous theory of the origin of ground waters. His works on the engineering properties of subsoils and quicksands, written by the repressed scientist during the building of Belomorcanal, present a special interest.