Boris Borisovich Golitsyn

Born 2 March 1862 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Boris Borisovich Golitsyn was one of the founders of modern seismology. Educated at St. Petersburg’s naval school and naval academy, Golitsyn left active service in 1887 to study physics and mathematics at the University of Strasbourg in France. After graduating in 1890, he returned to Russia to teach at the University of Moscow and several other institutions. Although he started out in molecular physics, by 1899 he had switched to seismology and seismometry. In 1906 Golitsyn invented the first electromagnetic seismograph. It consisted of a pendulum equipped with wire coils that, when set in motion by ground tremors, would oscillate through a magnetic field, inducing an electric current, which could be measured by a recorder in the laboratory. Golitsyn also worked to establish a network of seismic stations across Russia, which continues to operate today. He was elected to the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg in 1908, became president of the International Seismology Association in 1911, and was made a foreign member of the Royal Society of London in 1916. His career was cut short, however, when he died of pneumonia at age 54 in 1916. In recognition of his contributions to seismology, a part of Earth’s mantle—located at a depth of 400–800 km, where the velocity of seismic waves increases sharply—is often called the Golitsyn layer.

Date in History: 2 March 1862