The personal file of the outstanding scientist D.I. Mushketov as a historical source

The outstanding scientist-geologist Dmitry Ivanovich Mushketov was born on 19 March 1882 in Saint Petersburg. After graduation from the Mining Institute in 1907 he worked there as an Assistant Professor, a Lecturer, the Head of the Department; the Rector of the Mining Institute (1918-1927), the President of the Geological Committee (1926-1929), the Director of the Institute of Applied Geophysics (till 1930) that he founded, the Head of the Mining Museum (1923-1937). D.I. Mushketov is renowned for his works in the field of geological mapping of Central Asia, regional geology and tectonics. His works were published in the German, French and English languages. He delivered lectures on Dynamic Geology, General Geology, wrote and published textbooks. During mass repressions the scientist was arrested, executed on 18 February 1938, and rehabilitated in 1956. Little is known about his activities and work at the Mining Institute. In this regard, Personal File N 340 "Professor Dmitry Ivanovich Mushketov" (164 p.) stored in the Archive of the Mining University is of particular interest. The documents cover a period of D.I. Mushketov's employment in the Mining Institute from 11 October 1910 till 23 September 1937, and allow reconstructing the carrier of the scientist. The personal file contains D.I. Mushketov's authentic diploma awarded after graduation from the Mining Institute allowing to determine the subjects he studied; copies of service records 1910, 1913, 1916 containing the information on positions held, ranks, business trips and geological expeditions, awards, marital status, family members, religion, salary, etc. The Soviet-period documents reflect the scientist's activities as a Professor and Director of the Petrograd Mining Institute, the Director of the Mining Museum, a Geological Committee member of the Supreme Council of National Economy and a member of the Scientific and Technical Council of the Geological Survey for Mining of the Supreme Council of National Economy, the Head of the Geological Committee. The file contains Mushketov's propositions aimed at improving the Institute's performance, his statements, characteristics as a teacher and scholar, lists of his scientific works. It also comprises an extract from meeting minutes of the Attestation Commission dated 23 January 1936 to award D.I. Mushketov with a doctoral degree in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences without the public thesis defense, and the characteristics of his research prepared by the Institute's Commission. Documents on the scientist's business trips to Western Europe, the USA, South Africa lasting for several months at time are of particular interest. Documents from the personal file of D.I. Mushketov are a valuable historical source revealing unknown aspects of the activity of the scientist-geologist at the Leningrad Mining Institute supplementing his life with new facts. Along with the above, various certificates, excerpts, personal statements, characteristics, personal forms allow perceiving the atmosphere of the time and seeing the processes that took place in the higher education and in the country in the 1910s-1930s.

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