Kovalsky, Marian Albertovich

Born Dobrzin, Poland, 15/27 August 1821

Died Kazan, Russia, 28 May/9 June 1884

Marian Kovalsky developed new methods in celestial mechanics, composed a zone catalog of northern stars, and studied the motions of stars in the Milky Way. Born into the Polish family of Albert Kovalsky, he matriculated at Saint Petersburg University in 1841 and studied astronomy under Friedrich Struve and Aleksei Nikolaevich Savich. Graduating in 1845, Kovalsky spent a year at the Pulkovo Observatory before earning his master's degree (1847) on the motions of comets. Over the next 2 years, he participated in geodetic expeditions conducted by the Russian Geographical Society. In 1849, Kovalsky was made an assistant, and in 1850, a lecturer on astronomy at Kazan University. His doctoral dissertation was awarded in 1852 for his theory of the orbit of Neptune. In that year, Kovalsky was appointed a full professor and in 1855