Mstislav Keldysh
Encyclopedia
Mstislav Vsevolodovich Keldysh ( , Riga
- 24 June 1978, Moscow
) was a Soviet
scientist
in the field of mathematics
and mechanics
, academician
of the USSR Academy of Sciences
(1946), President of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1961–1975), three times Hero of Socialist Labor
(1956, 1961, 1971), fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
(1968). He was one of the key figures behind Soviet space program. Among scientific circles of USSR Keldysh was known with epithet "the Chief Theoretician" in analogy with epithet "the Chief Designer" used for Sergey Korolyov
.
. His grandfather, Mikhail Fomich Keldysh (1839–1920), was a military physician
, who retired with the military rank of a General
. Keldysh's grandmother, Natalia Keldysh (née Brusilova), was a cousin of famous general Aleksei Brusilov
. Keldysh's maternal grandfather, Alexander Nikolaevich Skvortsov, was a General of Infantry, a hero of the Caucasian War
.
Keldysh's father, Vsevolod Mikhailovich Keldysh (1878–1965), was a civil engineer
, Major General
of the Engineering Service, and a full Professor (since 1918, teaching at the Kuybyshev Military Engineering Academy. He was a Distinguished Engineering Scientist of Soviet Union (Заслуженный деятель науки и техники СССР) since 1944. He was one of the authors of contemporary methods for calculating the strength of reinforced concrete
, and a designer of the Moscow Canal
and Moscow Metro
projects.
Several members of the Keldysh family were victims of political repressions. In the 1930s Keldysh's uncle was sent to a labor camp
on the White Sea-Baltic Canal
construction site. In 1935 Keldysh's mother was arrested but after a few weeks was released. It was a part of the campaign of collecting gold from the population, but after Keldysh's father brought all the jewelry the family had, the unsatisfied NKVD
officer returned "all this garbage" back. Keldysh's brother Mikhail, a historian who specialized in medieval Germany
, was arrested in 1936 and executed in 1937 as a "German spy." In 1938 another of Keldysh's brothers, Alexander, was arrested as a "French
spy." Alexander was spared because of a small liberalization of the repressions during the transfer of the NKVD
leadership from Nikolai Yezhov
to Lavrenty Beria - he was acquitted in the court.
The strongest influence on Keldysh was his older sister, Ljudmila Keldysh (1904–1976), a noted mathematician and Keldysh's first teacher. Among her children (Keldysh's nephews) are Leonid Keldysh, director of Lebedev Physical Institute
and Sergei Novikov, a famous mathematician.
. When he was four the family evacuated to Moscow
during the First World War. In the first years of the Soviet Union
he was refused entrance to an Institute of Civil Engineers because of his attachment to a noble family (1927). In the next years he managed to enter and graduate from the Physics
and Mathematics
department of the Moscow State University
(24 July 1931). He obtained employment at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute
(TsAGI) under Mikhail Lavrentyev
and Sergei Chaplygin
.
Working in TsAGI he explained the auto-oscillation effects of flutter (in-flight auto-induced oscillations and structural deformations), and shimmy
(auto-oscillation in the nose-wheel of aircraft undercarriage
s while on the ground). Both works were mathematically beautiful and practical; both were important as both effects were responsible for many aircraft catastrophes at the time.
In 1937 Keldysh became Doctor of Science
(his dissertation's title was Complex Variable and Harmonic Functions Representation by Polynomial Series) and a Professor
of Moscow State University
. In 1943 he became a Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He got his first Stalin Prize in 1946 for his works on aircraft auto-oscillations. In 1943 he also became a full member of the Academy and the Director of NII-1 (Research Institute number 1) of the Department of the Aviation Industry. He also headed the Department of Applied Mechanics of the
Steklov Institute for Mathematics
(in 1966 the department became Institute for Applied Mechanics
, named after Keldysh).
During the 1940s Keldysh became the leader of a unique group of applied mathematicians involved in almost all large scientific projects of the Soviet Union. He created the Calculation Bureau that carried most of the mathematical problems related to the development of nuclear weapon
s. The bureau is also credited with design of the first Soviet computers. In 1947 He became a member of Communist Party
Keldysh's main efforts were devoted to jet propulsion
and rocket
s including supersonic
gas dynamics
, heat
and mass
exchange, heat shielding etc. 1959 saw successful testing of the Soviet first cruise missile
, which displayed better performance than the Navajo missile
being designed in USA at the time.
In 1954 Keldysh, Sergey Korolyov
and Mikhail Tikhonravov submitted a letter to the Soviet Government proposing development of an artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. This letter began the effort that culminated in the world's first satellite, Sputnik in October 1957, which marks the beginning of mankind's Space Age
. In 1955 Keldysh was appointed chairman of the Satellite Committee at the Academy of Science. In recognition of his contribution to the problems of defense Keldysh was awarded the Hero of Socialist Labor
(1956) and the Lenin Prize
(1957). In 1961 he received a second Него of Socialist Labor medal for his contribution to Yuri Gagarin
's flight into space, the first person to orbit the earth.
In 1961 Keldysh was elected Chairman of the USSR Academy of Sciences and kept this position for 14 years. Concomittantly he became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
. Among his achievements were rehabilitation of genetics
and cybernetics
and support of dissident scientists including Andrei Sakharov
. His last scientific works were devoted to creation of the Shuttle Buran
. In 1962 He was elected a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
Keldysh was 67 when he died. He was honoured with a state funeral
and his ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
on Red Square
.
(1961), Polish Academy of Sciences
(1962), Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
(1962), and Romanian Academy of Sciences (1965). He was also an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
(1966), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
(1966), Hungarian Academy of Sciences
(1970), and Royal Society of Edinburgh
(1968), foreign corresponding member of the German Academy of Sciences
(1966), and Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig
(1966).
Keldysh was awarded the USSR State Prize
(1942, 1946), Lenin Prize
(1957), six Orders of Lenin
, three other orders, numerous medals and four foreign orders.
The crater Keldysh
on the Moon
, and a research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh
are named after him. A minor planet
, 2186 Keldysh
discovered in 1973 by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh
, is named in his honor.
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
- 24 June 1978, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
) was a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
in the field of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
, academician
Academician
The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
(1946), President of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1961–1975), three times Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labour was an honorary title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. It was the highest degree of distinction for exceptional achievements in national economy and culture...
(1956, 1961, 1971), fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(1968). He was one of the key figures behind Soviet space program. Among scientific circles of USSR Keldysh was known with epithet "the Chief Theoretician" in analogy with epithet "the Chief Designer" used for Sergey Korolyov
Sergey Korolyov
Sergei Pavlovich Korolev ; died 14 January 1966 in Moscow, Russia) was the lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1950s and 1960s...
.
Family
Keldysh was born to a professional family of Russian nobilityRussian nobility
The Russian nobility arose in the 14th century and essentially governed Russia until the October Revolution of 1917.The Russian word for nobility, Dvoryanstvo , derives from the Russian word dvor , meaning the Court of a prince or duke and later, of the tsar. A nobleman is called dvoryanin...
. His grandfather, Mikhail Fomich Keldysh (1839–1920), was a military physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, who retired with the military rank of a General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
. Keldysh's grandmother, Natalia Keldysh (née Brusilova), was a cousin of famous general Aleksei Brusilov
Aleksei Brusilov
Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov was a Russian general most noted for the development of new offensive tactics used in the 1916 offensive which would come to bear his name. The innovative and relatively successful tactics used were later copied by the Germans...
. Keldysh's maternal grandfather, Alexander Nikolaevich Skvortsov, was a General of Infantry, a hero of the Caucasian War
Caucasian War
The Caucasian War of 1817–1864, also known as the Russian conquest of the Caucasus was an invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire which ended with the annexation of the areas of the North Caucasus to Russia...
.
Keldysh's father, Vsevolod Mikhailovich Keldysh (1878–1965), was a civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
of the Engineering Service, and a full Professor (since 1918, teaching at the Kuybyshev Military Engineering Academy. He was a Distinguished Engineering Scientist of Soviet Union (Заслуженный деятель науки и техники СССР) since 1944. He was one of the authors of contemporary methods for calculating the strength of reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
, and a designer of the Moscow Canal
Moscow Canal
The Moscow Canal , named the Moscow-Volga Canal until the year 1947, is a canal that connects the Moskva River with the main transportation artery of European Russia, the Volga River. It is located in Moscow itself and in the Moscow Oblast...
and Moscow Metro
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
projects.
Several members of the Keldysh family were victims of political repressions. In the 1930s Keldysh's uncle was sent to a labor camp
Labor camp
A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...
on the White Sea-Baltic Canal
White Sea-Baltic Canal
The White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal , often abbreviated to White Sea Canal is a ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. Until 1961, its original name was the Stalin White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal...
construction site. In 1935 Keldysh's mother was arrested but after a few weeks was released. It was a part of the campaign of collecting gold from the population, but after Keldysh's father brought all the jewelry the family had, the unsatisfied NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
officer returned "all this garbage" back. Keldysh's brother Mikhail, a historian who specialized in medieval Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, was arrested in 1936 and executed in 1937 as a "German spy." In 1938 another of Keldysh's brothers, Alexander, was arrested as a "French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
spy." Alexander was spared because of a small liberalization of the repressions during the transfer of the NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
leadership from Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov or Ezhov was a senior figure in the NKVD under Joseph Stalin during the period of the Great Purge. His reign is sometimes known as the "Yezhovshchina" , "the Yezhov era", a term that began to be used during the de-Stalinization campaign of the 1950s...
to Lavrenty Beria - he was acquitted in the court.
The strongest influence on Keldysh was his older sister, Ljudmila Keldysh (1904–1976), a noted mathematician and Keldysh's first teacher. Among her children (Keldysh's nephews) are Leonid Keldysh, director of Lebedev Physical Institute
Lebedev Physical Institute
The Lebedev Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences , situated in Moscow, is one of the leading Russian research institutes specializing in physics. It is also one of the oldest research institutions in Russia: its history dates back to a collection of physics equipment established by...
and Sergei Novikov, a famous mathematician.
Biography
Keldysh was born in 1911 in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. When he was four the family evacuated to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
during the First World War. In the first years of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
he was refused entrance to an Institute of Civil Engineers because of his attachment to a noble family (1927). In the next years he managed to enter and graduate from the Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
department of the Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
(24 July 1931). He obtained employment at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute
TsAGI
TsAGI is a transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for Центра́льный аэрогидродинами́ческий институ́т or "Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut", the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute....
(TsAGI) under Mikhail Lavrentyev
Mikhail Lavrentyev
Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentyev or Lavrentiev was an outstanding Soviet mathematician and hydrodynamicist.-Biography:...
and Sergei Chaplygin
Sergei Alekseevich Chaplygin
Sergey Alexeyevich Chaplygin was a Russian and Soviet physicist, mathematician, and mechanical engineer. He is known for mathematical formulas such as Chaplygin's equation and for a hypothetical substance in cosmology called Chaplygin gas, named after him. He graduated in 1890 from Moscow...
.
Working in TsAGI he explained the auto-oscillation effects of flutter (in-flight auto-induced oscillations and structural deformations), and shimmy
Speed wobble
Wobble, shimmy, tank-slapper, speed wobble, and even death wobble are all words and phrases used to describe a quick oscillation of primarily just the steerable wheel of a vehicle. Initially, the rest of the vehicle remains mostly unaffected, until translated into a vehicle yaw oscillation of...
(auto-oscillation in the nose-wheel of aircraft undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
s while on the ground). Both works were mathematically beautiful and practical; both were important as both effects were responsible for many aircraft catastrophes at the time.
In 1937 Keldysh became Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
(his dissertation's title was Complex Variable and Harmonic Functions Representation by Polynomial Series) and a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
. In 1943 he became a Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He got his first Stalin Prize in 1946 for his works on aircraft auto-oscillations. In 1943 he also became a full member of the Academy and the Director of NII-1 (Research Institute number 1) of the Department of the Aviation Industry. He also headed the Department of Applied Mechanics of the
Steklov Institute for Mathematics
Steklov Institute of Mathematics
Steklov Institute of Mathematics or Steklov Mathematical Institute is a research institute based in Moscow, specialized in mathematics, and a part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It was established April 24, 1934 by the decision of the General Assembly of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in...
(in 1966 the department became Institute for Applied Mechanics
Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics
The Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a research institute specializing in computational mathematics....
, named after Keldysh).
During the 1940s Keldysh became the leader of a unique group of applied mathematicians involved in almost all large scientific projects of the Soviet Union. He created the Calculation Bureau that carried most of the mathematical problems related to the development of nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s. The bureau is also credited with design of the first Soviet computers. In 1947 He became a member of Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
Keldysh's main efforts were devoted to jet propulsion
Jet propulsion
Jet propulsion is motion produced by passing a jet of fluid in the opposite direction to the direction of motion. By conservation of momentum, the moving body is propelled in the opposite direction to the jet....
and rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s including supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
gas dynamics
Fluid dynamics
In physics, fluid dynamics is a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics that deals with fluid flow—the natural science of fluids in motion. It has several subdisciplines itself, including aerodynamics and hydrodynamics...
, heat
Heat transfer
Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering that concerns the exchange of thermal energy from one physical system to another. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as heat conduction, convection, thermal radiation, and phase-change transfer...
and mass
Mass transfer
Mass transfer is the net movement of mass from one location, usually meaning a stream, phase, fraction or component, to another. Mass transfer occurs in many processes, such as absorption, evaporation, adsorption, drying, precipitation, membrane filtration, and distillation. Mass transfer is used...
exchange, heat shielding etc. 1959 saw successful testing of the Soviet first cruise missile
Cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...
, which displayed better performance than the Navajo missile
SM-64 Navaho
The North American SM-64 Navaho was a supersonic intercontinental cruise missile project built by North American Aviation. The program ran from 1946 to 1958 when it was cancelled in favor of intercontinental ballistic missiles...
being designed in USA at the time.
In 1954 Keldysh, Sergey Korolyov
Sergey Korolyov
Sergei Pavlovich Korolev ; died 14 January 1966 in Moscow, Russia) was the lead Soviet rocket engineer and spacecraft designer in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the 1950s and 1960s...
and Mikhail Tikhonravov submitted a letter to the Soviet Government proposing development of an artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. This letter began the effort that culminated in the world's first satellite, Sputnik in October 1957, which marks the beginning of mankind's Space Age
Space Age
The Space Age is a time period encompassing the activities related to the Space Race, space exploration, space technology, and the cultural developments influenced by these events. The Space Age is generally considered to have begun with Sputnik...
. In 1955 Keldysh was appointed chairman of the Satellite Committee at the Academy of Science. In recognition of his contribution to the problems of defense Keldysh was awarded the Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labor
Hero of Socialist Labour was an honorary title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. It was the highest degree of distinction for exceptional achievements in national economy and culture...
(1956) and the Lenin Prize
Lenin Prize
The Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
(1957). In 1961 he received a second Него of Socialist Labor medal for his contribution to Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....
's flight into space, the first person to orbit the earth.
In 1961 Keldysh was elected Chairman of the USSR Academy of Sciences and kept this position for 14 years. Concomittantly he became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. Among his achievements were rehabilitation of genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
and cybernetics
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
and support of dissident scientists including Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
. His last scientific works were devoted to creation of the Shuttle Buran
Shuttle Buran
The Buran spacecraft , GRAU index 11F35 K1 was a Russian orbital vehicle analogous in function and design to the US Space Shuttle and developed by Chief Designer Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy of Energia rocket corporation...
. In 1962 He was elected a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.
Keldysh was 67 when he died. He was honoured with a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
and his ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Kremlin Wall Necropolis
Burials in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow began in November 1917, when 240 pro-Bolshevik victims of the October Revolution were buried in mass graves on Red Square. It is centered on both sides of Lenin's Mausoleum, initially built in wood in 1924 and rebuilt in granite in 1929–1930...
on Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
.
Awards and honors
Keldysh was a member of many foreign academies of sciences, including the Mongolian Academy of SciencesMongolian Academy of Sciences
The Mongolian Academy of Sciences is Mongolia's first centre of modern sciences. It was founded in 1921, when the government established an Institute of Literature and Script, which was later upgraded to Institute of Science. Later, in 1961, it was reconstituted as the Mongolian Academy of Sciences...
(1961), Polish Academy of Sciences
Polish Academy of Sciences
The Polish Academy of Sciences, headquartered in Warsaw, is one of two Polish institutions having the nature of an academy of sciences.-History:...
(1962), Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences
The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic in 1992.-History:...
(1962), and Romanian Academy of Sciences (1965). He was also an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
(1966), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...
(1966), Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
The Hungarian Academy of Sciences is the most important and prestigious learned society of Hungary. Its seat is at the bank of the Danube in Budapest.-History:...
(1970), and Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(1968), foreign corresponding member of the German Academy of Sciences
German Academy of Sciences Berlin
The German Academy of Sciences at Berlin , later renamed Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic was the most important research institution of East Germany.The academy was founded in 1946 by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany to continue the long tradition of the...
(1966), and Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
(1966).
Keldysh was awarded the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
(1942, 1946), Lenin Prize
Lenin Prize
The Lenin Prize was one of the most prestigious awards of the USSR, presented to individuals for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was created on June 23, 1925 and was awarded until 1934. During the period from 1935 to 1956, the Lenin Prize was...
(1957), six Orders of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, three other orders, numerous medals and four foreign orders.
The crater Keldysh
Keldysh (crater)
Keldysh is a lunar impact crater that is located in the northeastern part of the Moon, at the eastern rim of the Mare Frigoris. It lies due north of the prominent crater Atlas, and to the northeast of the notable Hercules....
on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, and a research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh
Akademik Mstislav Keldysh
The R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh is a 6,240 ton Russian scientific research vessel. It is best known as the support vessel of the Mir submersibles. The vessel has made over 50 voyages, is owned by the Moscow-based Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Science and is...
are named after him. A minor planet
Minor planet
An asteroid group or minor-planet group is a population of minor planets that have a share broadly similar orbits. Members are generally unrelated to each other, unlike in an asteroid family, which often results from the break-up of a single asteroid...
, 2186 Keldysh
2186 Keldysh
2186 Keldysh is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 27, 1973 by L. I. Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.- External links :*...
discovered in 1973 by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh
Lyudmila Chernykh
Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh is a Russian, Ukrainian and Soviet astronomer.In 1959 she graduated from Irkutsk State Pedagogical University. Between 1959 and 1963 she worked in the 'Time and Frequency Laboratory' of the All-Union Research Institute of Physico-Technical and Radiotechnical Measurements...
, is named in his honor.