Aleksandr D. Aleksandrov

Aleksandr Aleksandrov was born on August 4, 1912 in Volyn village, Ryazan, Russian Empire (now Ryazan, Russia). He was a son of Danil Alexandrovich Alexandrov and Elizaveta Iosifovna Bartoshevich. He also had two sisters, Vera and Maria. Both of his parents were of noble origin - Danil Alexandrov came from an old noble family, and Elizaveta Bartoshevich came from a Polish noble family.

Aleksandr Aleksandrov graduated from high school in 1928. After that, he studied for a year at an art school. In 1929, Aleksandrov entered Leningrad State University (now Saint Petersburg State University) and graduated in 1933. He completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1935, and later, in 1937, he received a Doctor of Science degree.

Aleksandr Aleksandrov started his career as a research scientist at the Vavilov State Optical Institute in 1930, and he held this post until 1932. In 1933, he became an assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics at Leningrad State University (now Saint Petersburg State University). In 1937, Aleksandrov was appointed acting professor, and in 1944, he became a full professor. He held this post until 1952. 

Besides, Aleksandrov was an Acting Professor at Herzen State Pedagogical University from 1937 to 1938. In 1952, he took up the post of Rector at Saint Petersburg State University, and in 1964 he left the university and went to Novosibirsk. In Novosibirsk, Aleksandrov became head of the Laboratory of Geometry at Sobolev Institute of Mathematics and also a lecturer at Novosibirsk State University. 

In 1986, he returned to Saint Petersburg and became head of the Laboratory of Geometry in the St. Petersburg Department of Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He held this post until his death. Aleksandr Aleksandrov published his first book Intrinsic Geometry of Surfaces, in 1948. 

His next book was General Theory of Irregular Curves. He wrote numerous articles devoted to mathematics and geometry. Aleksandrov wrote non-mathematical papers, memoirs about famous scientists, and philosophical essays dealing with the moral values of science.