The role of the Mendeleevs-Kapustins-Popovs in the development of science and culture in pre-revolutionary Tomsk

The article deals with the relationship between the Mendeleev, Kapustin and Popov families, whose destinies were interrelated and connected with Tomsk. The representatives of the families were engaged in scientific research, educational activities, and also contributed to the development of culture of Tomsk Governorate. The most prominent representatives were D.I. Mendeleev, known for being a descendant of a large family, many members of which were connected with the scientific and cultural life of Tomsk Governorate. In addition, D.I. Mendeleev was directly connected with the process of the establishment and opening of the Imperial Tomsk University (ITU); it was he who recommended his nephew F.Y. Kapustin, one of the first professors-physicists of the ITU, for a professorship in the Siberian temple of science. There was the so-called «Mendeleev clan», many members of which were related to each other, lived nearby (now the memorial museum-reserve (museum-estate) of D.I. Mendeleev and A.A. Blok), and were engaged in research activities. Among other things, the name of Fyodor Yakovlevich Kapustin is associated with the spread of Alexander Stepanovich Popov's invention - the radio receiver. F.Y. Kapustin's wife was A.S. Kapustina (Popova), a famous artist, organizer of the Tomsk Society of Art Lovers (TOLH), as well as organizer of numerous art exhibitions. Of particular interest is the family of D.I. Mendeleev himself, some members of which also lived in Tomsk. The article considers the biographies of five brothers and sisters of D.I. Mendeleev, whose destinies were connected with Tomsk, including the mother of F.Y. Kapustin - Ekaterina Ivanovna Kapustina (Mendeleeva). The work is based on archival documents, periodicals, sources of personal origin, as well as on interview materials with a contemporary descendant of F.Y. Kapustin. As a result, biographical plots from the lives of the representatives of the three families and their environment were revealed, allowing to reconstruct in more detail the everyday life of a representative of the scientist and cultural community of prerevolutionary Tomsk, as well as their contribution to the development of science and culture of Tomsk Governorate. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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