Ognev, Sergei Ivanovich

Born Nov. 5 (17), 1886, in Moscow; died there Dec. 20, 1951. Soviet zoologist. Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1947). Son of the histologist I. F. Ognev.

Ognev graduated from Moscow University in 1910 and was made a professor there in 1930. His principal works were on the taxonomy and geographical distribution of mammals. He also studied birds and the history of zoology, biogeography, and animal evolution. Ognev conducted field studies in Central Russia, the Caucasus, the Urals, Semirech’e, and Turkmenia. He described a number of new mammal species and devoted much attention to conservation. In addition to writing Animals of the USSR, a classic fundamental summary of mammals of the USSR, Ognev wrote numerous textbooks, manuals, essays, and popular books on zoology. He was the founder of the Moscow school of mammalogists, among whom have been S. S. Turov, V. G. Geptner, A. N. Formozov, N. A. Bobrinskii, and A. G. Tomilin. A recipient of the State Prize of the USSR in 1942 and 1951, Ognev was also awarded an Order of Lenin and several medals.