August Davidov

August Yulevich Davidov (; – ) was a Russian mathematician and engineer, professor at Moscow University, and author of works on differential equations with partial derivatives, definite integrals, and the application of probability theory to statistics, and textbooks on elementary mathematics which were repeatedly reprinted from the 1860s to the 1920s. He was president of the Moscow Mathematical Society from 1866 to 1885.

Early life and education Davidov was born in Courland where his father was a physician, and his younger brother Karl Davidov (1838–1889) became a noted cellist and composer and director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

In 1839, Davidov was sent to Moscow to attend the school that is now Bauman Moscow State Technical University. In 1841, Davidov enrolled in the Department of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University, where he studied under Nikolai Brashman (1796–1866). In 1845 he won a gold medal from the university for his paper "On Infinitesimal Displacements". He was graduated that same year but continued his studies under Brashman. In 1848 he received the title of Master of Mathematics (and later the Demidov Prize from the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences) for his paper "The Theory of Equilibrium of Bodies Immersed in a Liquid". (According to some sources, "Theory of Capillary Phenomena" was Davidov's doctoral thesis.)

Pedagogical work

In 1860, Davidov was appointed Inspector of private educational institutions and community activities and became actively engaged in improving the teaching of mathematics at secondary schools. In 1862, he became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Moscow School District, a post he held for the rest of his life. He participated in the design of mathematics curricula under the aegis of the Pedagogical Department of Primary Education of the Polytechnical Museum, and on his initiative the journal Mathematics Anthology added a section for teachers.

Davidov's most lasting contribution to primary and secondary education was his textbooks on mathematics subjects in which he expounded on the mathematical theory in close connection with practical examples, using historical data in examples and incorporating visual aids. These textbooks were well received and went through dozens of reprintings over many decades with little alteration. For instance Upper Secondary School Course on Elementary Geometry went through 39 editions over sixty years and Elementary Algebra 24 editions, the last two under Soviet auspices in 1918 and 1922.

Death Davidov retired from Moscow University in June 1885 after thirty years of service. That same year, on December 22, he died and was buried in Vvedenskoye Cemetery.

After his death, his widow established a prize in his name, awarded for outstanding work in mathematics. Among the winners of this award were the future academician Nikolai Luzin.

Davidov's son Alexei Davidov (1867–1940) became a cellist and composer, then a successful businessman and industrialist and (after the Russian Revolution) an exile in Germany.

Works Davidov authored works in mathematics (theory of partial differential equations, theory of definite integrals, application of probability theory to problems of statistics) and mechanics (hydrodynamics, theory of equilibrium of floating bodies, research on links between the theory of capillary phenomena and general equilibrium theory).

Works on mathematics includes: The application of probability theory to statistics. The application of probability theory to medicine.

Works on mechanics include: Design and operation of steam engines. The greatest number of equilibria of a floating triangular prism. The theory of equilibrium of bodies immersed in a liquid.

School textbooks include: Upper Secondary School Course on Elementary Geometry (1863) Elementary Algebra (1866) Guide to Arithmetic (1870) Geometry for the County Schools (1873) Elementary Trigonometry (1877) Anthology of Geometric Problems (1888) (Davidov worked on this book at the very end of his life, and it was published after his death.)