En
Ru
Birth of Paul P. Melnikov, Head of Railways Department of the Russian Empire, railway transport engineer
July 22 (August 3), 1804 in Moscow was born Paul Petrovich Melnikov, a Russian engineer and scientist in the field of railway transport, the Head of the Department of Railways of the Russian Empire (1862-1869), honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1858), a member of the State Council of the Russian Empire (1863), member of design and construction of the railway Petersburg - Moscow, Russian author of the first theoretical work on the railway business.
In 1818 Melnikov entered the Moscow noble boarding school of Basil Kryazhev, after which was enrolled in the Military Construction School of Railways. Having graduated from the school, he was sent to the construction detachment at the rank of ensign. Due to the breadth of his knowledge and expertise, and through the influence of A. Betancourt, Melnikov was accepted as the III year student of the Institute of Railway Engineers. As the top graduate, he was retained at the Institute for teaching, and his name was listed on the marble plaque of honor in the auditorium.
In 1826, Melnikov was charged with the drafting for improvement of the Volkhov rapids by constructing dams on the river Volkhov; in 1830 he led the works to improve the navigation at the Kokenguzensky rapids on the Western Dvina River, and work to find a connection between the Western Dvina and Lovat’. In 1833 Melnikov became a member of the St. Petersburg Committee of Buildings and Hydraulic Works, where had been working the famous architects of that time: K. I. Rossi, V. P. Stasov, K. A. Ton.
In 1834, Melnikov was asked to restore the dome of Trinity Cathedral of Guards Izmailovo Regiment in St. Petersburg damaged by a storm. Construction of the second largest wooden dome in Europe had brought fame to Paul Petrovich.
In the 1830's Melnikov engaged in research in the field of economic efficiency and technical capabilities of construction of Russian railways and in 1835 published the first theoretical work on this subject, "About the railways." Two years later the Conference of the Institute of Railway Engineers on the study of the "problems of applied mechanics in relation to transport," sent the researcher to Western Europe and then to the U.S.A.
In early 1841 the Depaartment of Railways considered the recommendations of Melnikov regarding the construction of St. Petersburg-Moscow railway, and 1 (13) February the following year Emperor Nicholas I issued a Decree to build a railroad, under which the scientist-engineer Melnikov was appointed head of the Northern Direction. The railway had been constructed for 8,5 years and was one of the greatest engineering works of the middle of 19th century, being at that time the largest in the world. The grand opening of the railroad took place 1 (13) November 1851. For his contributions to its construction the talented engineer was awarded the Order of St. Anne.
After 1851 Melnikov had organized several expeditions for explorations on the construction of new railways in accordance with the project of creation a railway network in the European part of Russia. For this work he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class. In 1858 the scientist was appointed to the board of the Main Department of Railways and chief inspector of private railways. In 1860 he was entrusted with the construction of Hrushevsky railroad, and two years later he was appointed head of the Department of Railways. In 1865 the department was reorganized into the Ministry, and Melnikov became its first minister. During his tenure at this post, the network of Russian railways had increased by more than 7,000 kilometers.
Melnikov took quite heavily the decision of the Government to sell the railway Petersburg-Moscow to Main Society of Russian railways for private use in 1868. In 1869 the minister resigned. After completion of the public service, Melnikov, at his own expense, established in the city of Luban Petropavlovsk charitable institutions: a school for children of railway workers, a shelter for orphans-girls and an almshouse for the poor elderly women, railroad workers and employees. The last years of his life the scientist lived in Luban. On the eve of his death he made a will, which stated that all proceeds from the property, consisting of a house in St. Petersburg, a country house in Luban and 30,000 rubles of capital should be spent on maintenance of charitable institutions that had been opened at his expense.
Paul Petrovich Melnikov died on the day of his 76th birthday, July 22 (August 3) 1880, and was buried in Luban, in the church of Saints Peter and Paul.
Lit.: Виргинский В. С. П. П. Мельников // Люди русской науки. Техника. М., 1965; Воронин М. И., Воронина М. М. Павел Петрович Мельников, 1804-1880. Л., 1977; Житков С. Биографии инженеров путей сообщения. Вып. 1. СПб., 1889.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials: