December 25, 2006 was a 100’s anniversary since a tragic death of the former director of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (1902 - 1904) and the first dean and organizer of the Department (Faculty) Chemistry, a prominent scientist and chemist Michael Ivanovich Konovalov.
M.I Konovalov was born on November 13, 1858, in a village Budychino, Yaroslavl province in a prosperous peasant family. After finishing the Yaroslavl gymnasium with a golden medal he entered Moscow University on the Department of Natural Sciences which he finished in 1884.
During his student years Michael Ivanovych became absorbed in chemical sciences and after finishing the university was offered a post at the Department of Organic Chemistry, which was lead by the scientist and professor V.V. Markovnikov. At the time Mikhail Ivanovych works hard in sphere of pedagogy and science. He successfully studies Caucasian oil and also nitrating of organic compounds. His discovery of a reaction of an effect of nitric acid on saturated carbohydrates later entered world’s science stage as “Konovalov Reaction”. In year 1889 he defends his Master’s degree and in 1893 – Doctor’s dissertation. In 1896 M.I. Konovalov is offered to take the post of professor, Head of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of Moscow Agricultural Institute, where he works till 1899.
The director of KPI, professor V.L. Kirpichov offers M.I. Konovalov the post at the newly-created Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. After a year of hesitation M.I. Konovalov accepts a posts of the dean at the Faculty of Chemistry and the head of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry and assumes office in KPI on the 1st of July, 1899. Almost all of the Moscow chemists gathered to see the outstanding scientist off to Kyiv. The photo was taken on the occasion.
M.I. Konovalov arrived to Kyiv in the end of the first study year, which was spent by the university in the rented premises. The first dwelling house and the Chemistry building (present building #4), where first groups of students started their second year of studying, was built only in autumn 1899. Therefore, right after his arrival to Kyiv Mikhail Ivanovych got involved into the organization of the removal of the faculty to the Chemistry building and equipping the premises for teaching students.
It is worth mentioning that the Chemistry building of KPI was among the first buildings, together with the Chemistry building of Petersburg University (constructed in 1894), which were built in the higher education establishments of the country.
According to the statute, it was supposed to be 4 faculties in KPI: Mechanics, Engineering, Chemistry and Agriculture, with total amount of students of 1200 and 4 year studying period. It was supposed to be 35 departments (8 of them at the Chemistry Faculty), for functioning of which a number of professors of the corresponding specialties were needed. The first year the institute started with 7 professors on the staff, therefore, 7 departments were opened: Mechanics and Strength of Materials (the director of the department, prof. V.L. Kirpichov), Mechanical Technology (prof. K.A. Zvorykin), Zootechnics (prof. M.P. Chyrvinskyj), Botany (prof. U.M. Vagner), Chemistry (prof. S.M. Reformatskyj), Physics (prof. G.G. De-Mets), Zoology (prof. E.F. Votchal). The first academic year professor V.P. Yermakov worked as a lecturer with an hourly pay and appeared on the staff of KPI only after the second academic year as a head of the Department of Higher Mathematics.
Professor M.I. Konovalov, the dean and the director of the department, was immediately involved into the building committee and chosen to be the member of the administration of the institute. He persistently works on the organization of the Department of Chemistry: development of the curriculum and schemes of different specialities, attraction of the lecturers, creation of new departments and their equipment. Upon the arrival of M.I. Konovalov there were only 2 departments at the Faculty of Chemistry: Department of Inorganic Chemistry – professor M.I. Konovalov and Department of Organic Chemistry – professor S.M. Reformatskyj. There were 6 departments more to organize: one of Basic Technology and 5 Technological.
Along with him from Moscow to KPI M.I. Konovalov took his colleges V.P. Izschevskyj, O.V. Alyochin, N.Z. Vasylyev (soon dead) to fill positions of laboratory assistants. On the suggestion of M.I. Konovalov V.P. Izschevskyj was sent abroad for the purpose of familiarityzation with primary metal manufacturing for trainig for his PhD in this speciality.
In the beginning of the second academic year an important event took place in KPI: the official organization of its departments. At that time the staff of the institute counted 11 professors and, thereafter, the same number of departments. The newly-arrived staff professors on September 1, 1899: M.I. Konovalov, V.P. Yermakov and the professors of the Department of Agriculture P.R. Slyozkin and O.F. Fortunatov.
In accordance with the order of the Minister of Finance, to whom KPI reported, the department could be considered organized only if the number of the professors who conduct lectures on this department together with the dean is no less than five. Consequently, on the 4th of October 1899 V.L. Kirpichov reports to the Ministry of Finance about the presence of 11 professors on the staff and the organization of the departments, except for the Department of Engineering, which didn’t have a dean and that’s why was attached to the Department of Mechanics.
We can also see some correspondence of M.I. Konovalov with a lot of chemists to which he offered a post at KPI. This way, accepting his offer, in September 1899 his student V.O. Plotnikov, later a prominent scientist in the sphere of electrochemistry of nonaqueous solutions, took a post of a laboratory assistant at the Department of Chemistry. I.D. Zschukov was also offered a position at that time, and on the recommendation of D.I. Mendeleev – K.G. Dementiev, who were sent abroad for the preparation to the professorial activity. M.I. Konovalov also corresponded with prof. V.F Timofeev, who was elected head of the Department of Physical Chemistry in March 1900, which was the first one established by him in the country. On the recommendation of Mikhail Ivanovych prof. O.V. Klyucharov and prof. V.G. Bazshayev were also invited to the Agricultural Department. He also invited prof. D.M. Pryanyschnykov and prof. O.O. Yakovkin, and offered a post of the junior laboratory assistant to A.E. Chichibabin, who later became a world famous scientist.
September 1, 1902, V.G. Schaposchnikov and M.M. Tychvinskyj return from training course abroad and organize the first technological departments on the Faculty of Chemistry: the Department of Fibrous and Colouring Substances and the Department of Organic Technology respectively. In 1901 I.D. Zschukov returns and organizes the Department of Organic Food Processing Technology, and in 1902 – V.P. Izschevskyj, the founder of the Department of Metallurgy. In 1903 the last department the Department of Building Materials and Mineral Substances was organized – head of the department is K.G. Dementiev. Thus, thanks to the efforts of dean M.I. Konovalov on the Faculty of Chemistry, it has become the first one with filled professor staff, with all 8 departments opened and organized chemical laboratories with latest scientific equipment. By then it was the best equipped laboratories among all the home and foreign establishments of higher education.
In April 1902 the first wave of building in KPI was over. By that time, the pedagogical collective was formed, 22 departments, 30 laboratories and classrooms, mechanical workshops were organized.
In the beginning of the year 1902 wild student riots took place. The country authorities have closed the institute until autumn, the students of the 1st year were dismissed and the senior students were left to repeat the academic year.
As a result of student riots, under the pressure of Ministry of Internal Affairs director of KPI V.L. Kirpichov was dismissed of his place. Though, as it was common at those times, officially he sent in his resignation in connection with health problems. Therefore, the lectures were in the past and the institute was closed and the graduation planned on May 1902 has never happened.
In summer of the same year, being in Kyiv, Minister S.Y. Vitte on his meeting with the KPI professors claimed: if student riots don’t stop, the institute will be closed for unlimited period and then will be turned into the closed education establishment a sort of a military academy. Those kind of transformations would only lead to the whole annihilation of the idea of the polytechnic education.
S.Y. Vitte offered the post of director of KPI to M.O. Menschutkin - well-known scientist and the professor of Petersburg University. However, he refused this offer. In September 1902 prof. M.I. Konovalov was assigned to be the director of KPI. He managed to settle the range of complications, maintain durable calmness in the institute and organize in January 1903 the first graduation of engineers and agronomists.
The new director of KPI prof. M.I. Konovalov deeply respected his great predecessor. Despite the fact that V.L. Kirpichov was fired under the pressure of “the highest” authority, right after the dismissal on the initiative of M.I. Konovalov the academic council selected prof. V.L. Kirpichov as their honourable member and presented him an excellently made album with the photos of the premises, laboratories and cabinets of KPI. Till the end of his life prof. V.L. Kirpichov stayed in connection with his creation – KPI.
In the very first release of the graduation album 1903 you can see the photo of V.L. Kirpichov in the central honourable place and only next to it the one of M.I. Konovalov.
For the professional evaluation of the level of training S.Y. Vitte appoints the world-renowned scientist D.I. Mendeleev on the post of the head of the examination board of the institute. It was supposed to be 2 graduation days in KPI every year: in January and in May. In January 1903 61 student managed to get the degree and in May – 29, it make a total of 90 students in 1903.
D.I. Mendeleev participated in the examination board in all departments of the institute from 14th to 25th January 1903.
He noted the high level of grounding of KPI graduates and praised the work of the teaching staff.
Upon successful completion of the first graduation in KPI and the high praise from D.I. Mendeleev, on the initiative and by support of the minister S.Y. Vitte the institute was considerably enlarged. The total number of students was doubled to 2400. As a result, KPI became one of the largest technical education establishments in the country. In 1903 the Ministry of Finance offered to the institute to make a plan of further development. They suggested the expansion of educational and ancillary facilities, construction of dwelling buildings and so on, which required 3 million rubles in the following 3 years. With the help of the director M.I. Konovalov, deans and heads of departments the condensed term plan was successfully developed. Unfortunately, due to the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, the plan wasn’t realized to the fullest.
The increasing number of students required from M.I. Konovalov immediate actions in expanding educational facilities and attracting new staff. Besides offering posts to non-resident lecturers M.I. Konovalov involves the best graduates of KPI into the pedagogical and scientific activities. So, from the very first graduation he offers the posts to the graduated chemists G.A. Baschkirov, A.V. Dumanskyj (later a leading scholar of Colloid Chemistry, member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR), A.V. Mikheryev; and engineer-mechanics A.V. Krukovskyj (soon KPI professor), I.L. Voinovych-Sanozschentskyj and Y.V. Lanhe (Department of Engineering). Later, chemists F.P. Golev, V.I. Minaev and M.I. Konvalov’s students S.L. Voinovych-Sanozschentskyj, M.I. Manevskyj and others were also left on the staff.
Much of his attention M.I. Konovalov focused on the strengthening the Department of Engineering, which didn’t have a dean during first 4 years and was attached to the Department of Mechanics. In the beginning of 1904 under the direction of M.I. Konovalov a commission in charge of the detailed examination of the matters on the Department of Engineering was created. The appointed dean was prof. D.P. Ruzskyj, the professional and teaching staff was reinforced. M.I. Konovalov invited a number of new lecturers, including the renowned expert in bridge building prof. Y.O. Paton. Later, on Y.O. Paton’s request prof. G.D. Dubelir and V.F. Ivanov were invited and respectively new departments were opened. For some period in 1906 M.I. Konovalov was the dean at the Department of Engineering as well.
In 1904 M.I. Konovalov held the next two graduations of engineers and agronomists, who also showed a high level of training. 140 specialists graduated that year.
M.I. Konovalov paid special attention to the living and materialistic conditions of students. In 1902 student canteen was built on his initiative. In the spring of 1903 thanks to his support and participation the “Needy Students of KPI Aid Society” was created. It supported students on such things as paying the tuition fee, dwelling house and clothes need, etc.
From the end of 1903 and in 1904 student riots in KPI continued. The ministry demanded M.I. Konovalov to find and punish the guilty ones but he always stood up for his students.
In July of 1904 prof. M.I. Konovalov resigned from his position of a director of KPI.
Despite the persistent administrative and social work M.I. Konovalov gave much strength and energy to teaching and scientific activities. He delivered lectures of Inorganic Chemistry, special courses in Organic Chemistry and also conducted some classes with metallurgists. Lead degree theses. Successfully continued his early research on the interaction of nitric acid with different groups of organic compounds, researched the matter of organic synthesis, theory of structure of organic compounds, botany and was interested in chemical manufacturing. During the relatively long period of his work in KPI he published more than 30 works.
There is also a very interesting correspondence of M.I. Konovalov with prominent scientists, including V.V. Markovnikov, O.M. Menschutkin, O.M. Zajtsev and P.I. Valden – professors of Petersburg, Warsaw and Riga polytechnic academies and universities of Moscow, Petersburg, Kharkov, Kazan, etc.
Together with his colleges and students M.I. Konovalov synthesised more than 400 chemical compounds. The part of this collection is now stored in the laboratory of the organic chemistry. The scientific legacy of prof. M.I. Konovalov is a significant contribution into the world’s chemistry science and its creator has earned worlds recognition.
At the Chemistry Department under the leadership of M.I. Konovalov the so-called scientific readings were conducted, which later his successor prof. L.V. Pysarzschevskyj reorganized into the M.I. Konovalov Chemistry Club. M.I. Konovalov was also involved into social activity. In February 1900 he participated in the opening of the Sunday School for the workers of the Schuljavka factories. His wife Lubov Mykhajlivna Konovalova was in charge of this school. Mykhajlo Ivanovych was the organizer of agricultural courses, actively participated in the work of a range of scientific societies, delivered public lectures, gave consultations on different matters. He paid attention to publishing of popular science literature and translations of scientific works and textbooks of foreign authors. Therefore, he communicated with prof. Pysarzschevskyj on the matter of publishing the Analytical Chemistry textbook by Treadwell, which eventually was published in 1904 edited by L.V. Pysarzschevkyj with M.I. Konovalov’s foreword.
M.I. Konovalov had many future plans but, unfortunately, they never came to life. November 25, 1906 M.I. Konovalov as a part of the commission was examining the constructions of sewer system treatment, which were earlier built under his leadership, in KPI Park. Unexpectedly he stepped one foot into the unnoticed manhole and was seriously injured. He has been ill for the whole following month. His colleges and students loved him and worried a lot about his health. There is an application of students to his wife Lubov Mykhailivna of request to hang a daily newsletter about the health of Mikhail Ivanovich. Despite all the efforts of doctors on 25th of November 1906 on his 49th year of life M.I. Konovalov was gone.
NTUU “KPI” sacredly cherish the memory of M.I. Konovalov’s achievements. On the first floor of the main building of NTUU “KPI” you can still see the bust of M.I. Konovalov among the other well-known scientists, and in the large Chemistry cabinet of building #4, where he delivered lectures, among the well-known professors and chemists, who worked at the faculty, there is a portrait of M.I. Konovalov and on the facade of the building there’s his memorial plaque. At the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology the Konovalov scholarship was introduced in 1977 for the students of organic specialty, who have the high level of studying and are involved into the research work.
Dec 13, 2006 || Author: O.J. Khotsianivskyj, senior lecturer of the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology
Translated by Bilobrovka Valeriia, LA-02