Savych, Oleksii

Savych, Oleksii [Савич, Олексій; Savyč, Oleksij], b 9 March 1810 in Pushkarivka, Sumy county, Slobidska Ukraine gubernia, d 27 August 1883 in Tula gubernia, Russia. Astronomer and mathematician; member of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences from 1862. He studied at Kharkiv University and graduated from Moscow University (1829) and the Professorial Institute of Dorpat (Tartu) University (PH D, 1839). As a professor at Saint Petersburg University (1839–80) he contributed to areas such as the calculation of orbits of comets and planets, planetary science, optical refraction phenomena in astronomical observations, barometric corrections of optical observations, and gravimetric measurements. He was one of the first astronomers to use the theory of probability to interpret astronomical observations. He carried out geodesic measurements between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and proved that the sea levels of the two differ markedly. He wrote over 100 scientific papers; monographs on the application of practical astronomy in the geographical determination of places (1845) and on the application of the theory of probabilities in calculating observations (1857), both of which were translated into German; and an astronomy textbook (2 vols).

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]