Академик К. Ф. Герман: на пересечении науки и государственной службы (к 250-летию со дня рождения учёного)

Академик К. Ф. Герман: на пересечении науки и государственной службы (к 250-летию со дня рождения учёного)

Андрей Юрьевич Скрыдлов

СПбФ ИИЕТ РАН

КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ СЛОВА:

КАРЛ ФЕДОРОВИЧ ГЕРМАН, ИСТОРИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ СТАТИСТИЧЕСКОЙ НАУКИ, СТАТИСТИЧЕСКОЕ ОТДЕЛЕНИЕ, СТАТИСТИЧЕСКИЙ ЖУРНАЛ, АКАДЕМИЯ НАУК, KARL F. GERMAN, CARL TEODOR HERMANN, ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN STATISTICS, THE STATISTICAL DEPARTMENT, THE STATISTICAL JOURNAL

АННОТАЦИЯ:

Академик К. Ф. Герман: на пересечении науки и государственной службы (к 250-летию со дня рождения ученого) Академик Карл Федорович Герман (Carl Teodor Hermann) – выдающийся ученый, один из основателей статистической науки в России, инициатор издания и редактор первого в России статистического журнала, руководитель созданного в 1811 г. Статистического отделения – первого в Российской империи органа административной статистики. Биография К. Ф. Германа иллюстрирует удачное сочетание научно-преподавательской деятельности и государственной службы. В статье, приуроченной к 250-летию со дня рождения ученого, на основе широкого спектра архивных материалов и опубликованных источников обобщен вклад К. Ф. Германа в развитие отечественной науки, проанализирована его роль в становлении государственной административной статистики, систематизированы общественно-политические взгляды.

ОПИСАНИЕ НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ ЯЗЫКЕ:

Academician K. F. German at the Intersection of Science with the Public Service (On the Occasion of the 250й1 Anniversary of the Scientist’s Birth)

Skrydlov Andrey Yu.

St Petersburg Branch of the Institute for the History of Science and Technology, RAS

In the first half of the XIX century, Russian statistics took shape both institutionally and theoretically. One of the central figures in this process was Karl Fedorovich German (Carl Teodor Hermann) whose writing and organizational work significantly influenced the next generation of statisticians. K. F. German graduated from the University of Gottengen in 1791. Upon his arrival to Russia in 1795, he made a successful career in Russian science. He was elected as associate member of the Academy of Sciences in 1810 and was granted the full membership in 1835. In 1819, he was appointed Full Professor of Statistics in St. Petersburg University. From 1811 up to 1835, he was the Head of the Fist Central Organization of the Russian Administrative Statistics, which was attached as the Statistical Department to the Ministry of Police and later to the Ministry of the Interior and was established for collection and publication of statistical data and periodical reports. In his theoretical work, German was influenced by G. Achenwall – the most prominent German «university statistician». He located statistics within political sciences, declared that «statistics form the focal point for all political sciences. It provides the evidence for all these sciences, and therefore the foundations of these sciences should develop according to the needs of statistics». In his lectures, German taught that autocracy became a source of evil and led to despotism, and the social contract should be made to benefit the majority rather than enslave them. German was close to the Decembrists’ movement, lectured privately to the members on this movement in 1816-1817. His liberal optimistic view was shattered when he was compelled to leave the University in 1824 and was forbidden to lecture. German’s works and activities have had a most profound influence on the development of the Russian science and governmental statistics.