Victor Ambartsumian

Born on 18 September 1908 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Victor Ambartsumian was a Soviet astronomer and one of the founders of theoretical astrophysics. After graduating from Leningrad State University in 1928, Ambartsumian did postgraduate work at Pulkovo Observatory near Leningrad. He then returned to Leningrad University, where he founded the Soviet Union’s first department of astrophysics and became a professor in 1934. Ambartsumian’s research interests were broad, and over his career he made many important contributions and observations on such subjects as stellar dynamics and radiative transfer, the activity of galactic nuclei, and the process of star formation. In 1958 he published his now-classic textbook Theoretical Astrophysics, which has since been reissued and translated many times. Ambartsumian also gained renown as an organizer of science. In 1943 he was one of the founding members and the first vice president of the Armenian Academy of Sciences. From 1947 to 1993 he served as its president, and after 1993 he was honorary president. In 1946 he founded the academy’s Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory and served as its director until 1988. He also served as president of the International Astronomical Union and of the International Council of Scientific Unions. He founded the journal Astrofizica (Astrophysics) and was editor-in-chief until the mid 1980s. For his service, Ambartsumian received many awards from the Soviet government, including two Stalin prizes and five Orders of Lenin. He died in August 1996; you can read the Physics Today obituary .

Date in History: 18 September 1908