1883-1945

Russian geochemist and mineralogist who made significant contributions to geology and crystallography. Fersman was elected to the Russian Academy of Sciences and made director of the society's Geological Museum in 1919. During the 1920s he determined the distribution of chemical elements in the earth's crust and provided reasons for the observed differences in terrestrial and cosmic distributions. During the last 20 years of his life he was responsible for reassessing the Soviet Union's mineral resources.