Saukov, Aleksandr

Born Aug. 2 (15), 1902, in the village of Churilovo, in what is now Nekouz Raion, Yaroslavl Oblast; died Oct. 23, 1964, in Moscow. Soviet geochemist. Corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1953). A student of A. E. Fersman. Member of the CPSU from 1945.

Upon graduation from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute in 1929, Saukov worked continuously with the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1949 he became head of the department of geochemistry in the Institute of Geological Sciences and, later, in the Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits, Petrography, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He began teaching at Moscow University in 1937 and became a professor there in 1952.

Saukov’s principal works dealt with the geochemistry of mercury and rare elements, geochemical methods for searching for mineral deposits, and certain theoretical aspects of geochemistry. Saukov developed a historical approach in geochemistry (the evolution of factors of migration of elements in the earth’s history). He studied deposits of mercury in Dagestan, Middle Asia, Gorno-Altai Autonomous Oblast, and the eastern part of Transbaikalia. He participated in the discovery of the apatite group of minerals in the Kola Peninsula and optical quartz in the Pamirs. The mineral saukovite, (Hg,Cd)S, was named in his honor.

Saukov received the State Prize of the USSR (1947, 1952) for his monograph The Geochemistry of Mercury (1946) and textbook Geochemistry (1950). He was an honorary member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall (Great Britain). Saukov was awarded three Orders of the Red Banner of Labor and several medals.