Fedorenko Ivan Ivanovich General data:
18.02.1827 - 26.12.1888
Place of birth: Kharkiv City, Kharkiv province, Russian empire
Studied in: Imperial Kharkov University (since 1999 V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University) (1848);
Key interests: astronomy, geodesy. PhD Thesis: On average apparent motions of stars (1856 ); ScD Thesis: Exploration secondary real and parallax motions of stars (1865 St. Peterburg university);
Biography:
He was born 6 (on the Julian calendar or 18 on the Gregorian calendar) in February 1827 in Kharkiv city, nowadays the Kharkiv province of the Russian Empire in the family of a merchant.
During 1837-1844 he studied at the Kharkov provincial gymnasium.
In 1848 he graduated from the Imperial Kharkiv University with a degree of a candidate of mathematical sciences. He was a disciple of Professor A. P. Shidlovsky, under whose guidance he conducted practical astronomy studies at the Temporary Observatory. Together with him he took part in expeditions to determine the geographical coordinates of the points of the Kharkiv, Voronezh and Kursk provinces, as well as the latitudes of the points of the southern edge of the degree measurements near Izmail city, in particular in the expedition of 1847-1848.
During 1850-1851 he worked at the Pulkovo Observatory near St. Petersburg on the post of freelance astronomer, where, under the guidance of V. Ya Struve, he was engaged in the definition of double-sighted orbits.
Participated in the construction of the Struve geological arc. From Pulkovo he was sent to Finland to determine the geographical coordinates of the main point of the Russian-Scandinavian degree measurement.
Upon his return, he worked in Kyiv City in 1852, he teached courses in trigonometry and spherical astronomy and geodesy, conducting practical classes with students at the University Astronomical Observatory, from April to December 1855 he headed the Kyiv Observatory.
In 1856 he defended his Ph.D. thesis "On Medium Visible Star Movements".
In 1857 he received from the Imperial St. Petersburg University a Master's degree in Astronomy and in the following year he received the post of Observatory at the Imperial Kharkiv University; in 1862 he became a professor at the Imperial Kharkiv University and until 1878 headed the Department of Astronomy.
In 1865 he defended a doctoral dissertation "Exploration of the mean real and paralogical movements of stars" at the St. Petersburg University, received the title of doctor of astronomy and erected in the rank of ordinary professor and continued his work at the University until 1878.
In 1868, thanks to the persistence of Professor I. I. Fedorenko, the head of the Department of Astronomy of Imperial Kharkiv University, another temporary astronomical observatory was created on the territory of the university yard in the form of a so-called astronomical revolving tower, which was equipped with a six-inch Mertz refractor. Here, I. I. Fedorenko and his students studied the means of determining the height of the pole by near-meridian heights. Scientific work at this observatory continued until the scientist's retirement in 1878.
14 (according to the Julian calendar or 26 on the Gregorian calendar) in December 1888 (according to other data in 1889) died in the Kharkiv city.
Areas of scientific work were astronomy and geodesy.
The main scholar's works relate to the study of the movements of stars. He participated in the compilation of a catalog of 4637 stars close to the pole issued by the Pulkovo Observatory in 1854. He also worked out methods for determining the height of the pole of the world from meridian observations. He also made a map of the stellar sky of the northern hemisphere.
Main publications:
1. Федоренко И. И. Разыскание о средних собственных, действительных и параллактических движениях звезд, 1885
2. Федоренко И. И. Способ околомеридианных и равных высот звезд по обе стороны от зенита и приложение его к нахождению высоты полюса на астрономической башне Харьковского университета, 1879
3. Федоренко И. И. О средних видимых движения звезд, 1859
4. Федоренко И. И. и др. Каталог положений 4637 у около полюсных звезд, Санкт-Петербург 1854
Sources:
1 Казанцева Л. В., Кислюк В. С. Київське вікно у Всесвіт: Історія Київської астрономічної обсерваторії в контексті історії розвитку національної та світової науки. — Київ: Наш час, 2006.—C.71-72, 86
2 Енциклопедія українознавства. Словникова частина (ЕУ-II). — Париж, Нью-Йорк, 1980. — Т. 9. — С. 3487-3498.
3 Два века астрономии в Харьковском университете(фотографии) /Ю. В. Александров, Ю. Г. Шкуратов //Universitates. – - С.298
4 Астрономия в Харьковском университете (к 100 летию основания астрономической обсерватории университета) // Александров Ю. В. //Астрономия в Харьковском университете (к 100летию основания астрономической обсерватории университета) Александров Ю. В. //Очерки ист. естетвознан. и техн. (Киев).-1988-№34. С.58
