Popov, Aleksandr Ivanovich (1899-1973), a scientist

Subject / Local studies/Personnel
Popov, Aleksandr Ivanovich (1899-1973), a mathematician, philologist, expert in toponymy, philosopher. A.I. Popov became a candidate of physico-mathematical science in 1938, Doctor of History in 1947, professor in 1949, Corresponding Member of the Finno-Ugric Society (Finland) in 1955. He graduated from the physico-mathematical faculty of the Petrograd University in 1924, taught in schools of Moscow and Serpukhov, worked as a research worker of the State Experimental Electrotechnical University and the Pavlov magneto-technical observatory. From 1930 Popov was a member of the Leningrad Finno-Ugric People Culture Researchers Society and the Society of Ancient Written Language and Art. He worked as an associate professor of the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute from 1931, as well as in the Saratov, Karelo-Finnish and Belarussian Universities. From 1945 till 1947 Popov was the Head of a department of the Machine-tool Institute. From 1947 he was the Head of a department at the Leningrad State University, from 1949 he headed the department of the Finno-Ugric Philology. From 1956 till 1969 Popov was a professor of the Philosophic faculty of the Leningrad State University. He has a wide range of scietific interests: logistics, physics, philosophy, history, toponymy, ethnonymy, lexicology. Popov has made great contribution into the researches in the historic geography, toponymy and ethnonymy of the Russian North including the Leningrad Oblast. He used a wide range of sources: literary texts from the Old Russian Times, Russian dialects, Finno-Ugric languages. The title of Popov's second Ph. Thesis was "Issledovaniya po istoricheskoy geografii I toponimike Vostochnoy Evropi" ("Researches on Historic Geography and Toponymy of the Eastern Europe", 1945), the title of the doctoral thesis was "Iz istorii finno-ugorskikh narodnostey SSSR" ("From the History of Finno-Ugric People of the USSR"). Popov has made an important contribution to the Leningra Oblast history and toponymy popularization, he developed the ways and methods of the collection and study of toponymy materials, carried out problems of the source study and the toponymy study. Yegorov, Sergey Borisovich
Popov, Aleksandr Ivanovich
Бобров А.Г. Попов Александр Иванович // Энциклопедия «Слова о полку Игореве»: в 5 т. СПб., 1995. Т. 4. П–Слово., С. 155-157
Мокань К. Александр Иванович Попов [Некролог] // Советское финно-угроведение. 1973. Т. IX. № 3., С.234-236
Филин Ф.П. От редактора // Попов А.И. Следы времен минувших. Из истории географических названий Ленинградской, Псковской и Новгородской областей. Л., 1981., С. 3-7