Mechnikov I.I., (1845-1916), physiologist

Categories / Science. Education/Personalia
MECHNIKOV Ilya Ilyich (1845-1916), embryologist, microbiologist and pathologist, Associate (1902) and Honourary Doctor (1883) of the St. Petersburg Academy of Science. Graduated from the University of Kharkov in 1864. Defended his master's thesis (1867) and doctor's thesis (1868) at the University of St. Petersburg. In 1868 he became Senior Lecturer and Chair of Zoology. From 1870 to 1882, he held a professorship at the Novorossiisky University in Odessa (presently Mechnikov University). From 1888 to 1916, he worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. In 1909, during his tenure, he visited St. Petersburg, where he was given an enthusiastic reception. His main scientific contribution consists in the discovery of the phenomenon of phagocytosis; he also formulated the phagocyte theory of the immune system. He also concentrated on issues of aging. In 1908, he won the Nobel Prize together with P. Erlich. To commemorate Mechnikov's contribution to science, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR instituted the Mechnikov Memorial Golden Medal and the Mechnikov Prize. A monument to Mechnikov (sculptor L.V. Shervud) was erected in 1936 on the territory of Peter the Great Hospital, which was called the Mechnikov Memorial Hospital from 1919 to 1994. In 1939, Mechnikov's name was given to an avenue (former Nikolaevsky Avenue). In 1995, the Academy of Medicine was also named after Mechnikov.

Works: Pages from a Memoir: Collected Autobiographical Essays. Moscow, 1946.

References: Блинкин С. А. И. И. Мечников. М., 1972.

O. N. Ansberg. Erlich Paul
Mechnikov Ilya Ilyich
Peter I, Emperor
Shervud Leonid Vladimirovich
Mechnikova Ave/Saint Petersburg, city
Блинкин С. А. И. И. Мечников. М., 1972
Страницы воспоминаний: Сб. автобиогр. ст. М., 1946 Russian Academy of Sciences
State University, St. Petersburg
Russian Academy of Sciences
Mechnikov Medical Academy