Nikolai Vavilov (1887-1943) was a Soviet botanist and geneticist who traveled extensively across five continents collecting plant specimens to develop his theory of the centers of origin of cultivated plants, identifying the geographic regions where major crop species were first domesticated. He built what became the world's largest seed bank at the Institute of Plant Industry in Leningrad, intended to safeguard crop genetic diversity for future breeding and food security. As the Soviet Union increasingly promoted the pseudo scientific agricultural theories of Trofim Lysenko, Vavilov, who defended conventional genetics, was arrested in 1940 on fabricated charges and died of starvation in a Soviet prison in 1943, a scientist effectively punished for advocating evidence based genetics against a state favored rival theory. He was posthumously rehabilitated after Stalin's death, and the seed collection he built survived a subsequent wartime siege intact, protected by staff who themselves starved rather than eat it.
Facts
Birth YearSourced to the subject's own account Birth DateSourced to the subject's own account Death YearSourced to the subject's own account FieldSourced to the subject's own accountagronomy, botany and genetics 1 Death PlaceSourced to the subject's own account NationalitySourced to the subject's own account Notable WorkSourced to the subject's own accountidentified the centers of origin of cultivated plants 1 BirthplaceSourced to the subject's own account Sources
1. Nikolai Vavilov (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', Early years and education section, first sentence (birth year)
Nikolai Vavilov was born on 25 November 1887 into a merchant family in Moscow, the older brother of physicist Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov.
Wikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', Early years and education section, first sentence (birth date, New Style)
Nikolai Vavilov was born on 25 November 1887 into a merchant family in Moscow, the older brother of physicist Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov.
Wikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', Early years and education section, first sentence (birthplace)
Nikolai Vavilov was born on 25 November 1887 into a merchant family in Moscow, the older brother of physicist Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov.
Wikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', lead section, imprisonment paragraph (death year)
In 1943, he died in prison in Saratov as a result of the harsh conditions.
Wikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', lead section, imprisonment paragraph (death place)
In 1943, he died in prison in Saratov as a result of the harsh conditions.
Wikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', lead paragraph, first sentence (nationality)
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov (Russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Вави́лов, IPA: [nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ vɐˈvʲiləf] ; 25 November [O.S. 13 November] 1887-26 January 1943) was a Russian and Soviet agronomist, botanist and geneticist who identified the centers of origin of cultivated plants.
Wikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', lead paragraph, first sentence (field)
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov (Russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Вави́лов, IPA: [nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ vɐˈvʲiləf] ; 25 November [O.S. 13 November] 1887-26 January 1943) was a Russian and Soviet agronomist, botanist and geneticist who identified the centers of origin of cultivated plants.
Wikipedia article 'Nikolai Vavilov', lead paragraph, first sentence (notable work)
Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov (Russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Вави́лов, IPA: [nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ vɐˈvʲiləf] ; 25 November [O.S. 13 November] 1887-26 January 1943) was a Russian and Soviet agronomist, botanist and geneticist who identified the centers of origin of cultivated plants.
View the Source Nikolai Vavilov, The Father of Genebanks (Crop Trust)
article body, death paragraphQuote, article body, death paragraph
Vavilov died in incarceration in Saratov on 26 January 1943. The cause of death was starvation
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