“Observations stopped on the occasion of the cession of Alaska”: St. Petersburg academy of sciences’ magnetic and meteorological observatory in sitka (Alaska)
- Authors: Feklova T.Y.1
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Affiliations:
- St. Petersburg Branch of S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences
- Issue: Vol 45, No 1 (2024)
- Pages: 158-174
- Section: Institutions and Museums
- URL: https://journals.rcsi.science/0205-9606/article/view/257172
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.31857/S0205960624010095
- ID: 257172
Open Access
Access granted
Abstract
Based on the new archival materials from the Russian State Archive of the Navy, Russian State Historical Archive, and St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Archive, the history of the organization and operations of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences’ Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory in Alaska (the city of Sitka / Sitkha) was analyzed for the first time. This Observatory operated from 1839 until the sale of Alaska in 1867. The themes from the history of the Observatory reviewed in the article are the background for its creation, the participation of the international scientific community (Royal Society of London) in its founding, and the contribution of the Russian-American Company and its leaders, primarily Arvid Adolf Etholén, to its construction and operations. The archival data relating to the observations conducted at the Observatory (mean daily temperature) are provided for the first time. The fact that the Observatory, being officially subordinate to the Mining Department of the Ministry of Finance, was scientifically managed by the Academy of Sciences, helps to better understand the specifics of interagency links and communication in the Russian Empire in the 19ʰᵗ century. The article also sheds light on the personal contribution of Director of the Central Physical Observatory, A. Ya. (Adolph-Theodor) Kupffer, to the formation of the Observatory in Sitka, briefly reviews the instruments and devices employed by the Observatory, and, for the first time, provides the names of its directors and other staff.
Full Text
About the authors
Tatiana Y. Feklova
St. Petersburg Branch of S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Author for correspondence.
Email: tat-feklova@yandex.ru
Russian Federation, Universitetskaia nab., 5, lit. B, St. Petersburg, 199034
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