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“Observations Stopped on the Occasion of the Cession of Alaska”: St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences’ Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory in Sitka (Alaska)
 
PIIS020596060031445-1-1
DOI10.31857/S0205960624010095
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Tatiana Feklova 
Affiliation: St. Petersburg Branch of S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Saint-Petersburg, Universitetskaia nab., 5, lit. B
Journal nameVoprosy istorii estestvoznaniia i tekhniki
EditionVolume 45 Issue 1
Pages158-174
Abstract

Based on the new archival materials from the Russian State Archive of the Navy, Russian State Historical Archive, and St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Archive, the history of the organization and operations of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences’ Magnetic and Meteorological Observatory in Alaska (the city of Sitka / Sitkha) was analyzed for the first time. This Observatory operated from 1839 until the sale of Alaska in 1867. The themes from the history of the Observatory reviewed in the article are the background for its creation, the participation of the international scientific community (Royal Society of London) in its founding, and the contribution of the Russian-American Company and its leaders, primarily Arvid Adolf Etholén, to its construction and operations. The archival data relating to the observations conducted at the Observatory (mean daily temperature) are provided for the first time. The fact that the Observatory, being officially subordinate to the Mining Department of the Ministry of Finance, was scientifically managed by the Academy of Sciences, helps to better understand the specifics of interagency links and communication in the Russian Empire in the 19th century. The article also sheds light on the personal contribution of Director of the Central Physical Observatory, A. Ya. (Adolph-Theodor) Kupffer, to the formation of the Observatory in Sitka, briefly reviews the instruments and devices employed by the Observatory, and, for the first time, provides the names of its directors and other staff.

Keywordsmeteorology, Academy of Sciences, observatory, Sitka / Sitkha, Alaska, Russian-American Company
Received06.02.2023
Publication date29.03.2024
Number of characters31118
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