114 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLII. No. 1073 



internal affairs of the Moscow University was 

 established. 



The rector of the university. Dr. Manoui- 

 lov, went to St. Petersburg to protest against 

 this, pointing out the fact that the adminis- 

 tration of the university was able to take the 

 proper measures, without police interference. 

 He was informed by the minister that if the 

 state of affairs, as it then existed, did not 

 please him, he was at liberty to pursue any 

 course he chose. 



Immediately upon his return to Moscow, Dr. 

 Manouilov resigned from his post at the uni- 

 versity. Several other professors, led by 

 Oumov, also tendered their resignations, as a 

 protest against the action of the government. 



At that time Oumov, as the professor of 

 experimental physics, was in charge of the 

 celebrated physical institute of the university. 

 Several days after he tendered his resignation, 

 he was ordered to leave the university im- 

 mediately. He was not even permitted to 

 complete the experiments he had under way 

 in his laboratories. 



When this became known, a group of Mos- 

 cow business men collected funds for the 

 equipment of a new laboratory at the Free 

 University of Sheniawsky, also at Moscow, and 

 Oumov's work was transferred there. He re- 

 mained at this university until his death. 



This one fact is sufficient indication of the 

 popularity which Oumov enjoyed in private 

 life. He was beloved by his students, despite 

 the fact that he was very exacting in his re- 

 quirements. But it was well known that when- 

 ever the interests or the privileges of the stu- 

 dent body were concerned. Oumov would al- 

 ways bring his powerful influence to bear 

 upon his colleagues. Stern and dignifiedly 

 scientific in the lecture hall and the labora- 

 tory, he was always kind, open-hearted and 

 generous in private life. Student after stu- 

 dent received financial assistance for the tui- 

 tion from Oumov, but each one was made to 

 promise never to mention this fact. 



It is interesting that his favorite laboratory 

 assistant, a man of scarcely any education, 

 has recently been appointed to special instruc- 

 torship at the university. His association 



with Oumov gave him a wonderful knowledge 

 of physics.^ 



As far as Oumov's scientific work is con- 

 cerned, it would be very difficult to give a full 

 appreciation of it at the present time; like the 

 majority of Russian professors he published 

 comparatively little during his lifetime, and 

 a considerable period will probably yet elapse 

 before we have a complete study of his work. 



There was, however, one characteristic fea- 

 ture of his scientific activity, of which we 

 spoke at the very beginning. He was pri- 

 marily a scientific philosopher, and it was this 

 characteristic that made him different from 

 other physicists. It was with a profoundly 

 philosophical attitude that he regarded the 

 different evolutionary phases of the human 

 thought in the domain of physical phenomena. 

 Professor Hvolson thus describes this char- 

 acteristic side of Oumov's scientific make-up: 



He possessed a remarkable talent that enabled 

 him to grasp quickly the essence of the views and 

 the interpretations of the world, prevalent at the 

 given moment, analyze the causes, often remote 

 and deep-seated, that led to the rise of new hy- 

 potheses and theories, and then, by means of a 

 clever synthesis, represent the results of the new 

 evolutions of science.^ 



He was a splendid lecturer and he was often 

 invited to speak at scientific congresses. In 

 his speeches 



clear popular presentation of the results of new 

 scientific works was blended with a philosophical 

 interpretation of them, which often made them 

 assume entirely new aspects. 



The esteem in which Oumov was held by his 

 fellow scientists in Russia may be seen from 

 the fact that on the " First Russian Congress 

 of Teachers of Physics, Chemistry and Cos- 

 mography," held in December, 1913, Oumov 

 was elected president, as the " oldest Russian 

 professor of physics, a profound thinker and a 

 remarkable scientist." At this congress he 

 delivered a famous speech on the " Evolution 



1 1 owe these facts concerning Oumov 's private 

 life to my friend, Mr. E. Dourmashkin, of New 

 York City, who had studied under Oumov at the 

 University of Moscow. 



- Professor O. Hvolson, ' ' Eeteh, ' ' Petrograd, 

 January 19, 1915. 



