Nikolay Lyubavin

Nikolai Nikolaevich Lyubavin (22 April 1845 – 17 December 1918) was a Russian chemist and university professor. He is known for his research in organic chemistry, specifically regarding pyridine compounds, and for his contributions to the development of technical chemistry education in Russia. He was also one of the first translators of Karl Marx's Das Kapital into Russian.

Biography Lyubavin was born on 22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1845 in Saint Petersburg to a Third Guild merchant family. He graduated from the Saint Petersburg Commercial School in 1862 and subsequently attended the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of Saint Petersburg University as an external auditor. There he attended lectures by Nikolai Sokolov and Dmitri Mendeleev, graduating in 1868 with a Candidate of Sciences degree.

Following his graduation, Lyubavin traveled abroad to continue his scientific education. From 1868 to 1870, he conducted postdoctoral research with Hermann Kolbe in Leipzig, Adolf von Baeyer in Berlin, Robert Bunsen and Albert Ladenburg in Heidelberg, and Marcellin Berthelot in Paris. Upon returning to Russia in February 1871, he joined the laboratory of Nikolai Menshutkin at Saint Petersburg University as a laboratory assistant in the analytical department, where he supervised students in quantitative analysis.

It was during his time as a student in Heidelberg in February 1870 that Lyubavin become involved with the translation of Das Kapital into Russian. He was caught up in a dispute between Marx's Russian publishers, Sergei Nechaev and Mikhail Bakunin about progress on the translation, and Nechaev angrily warned him in a letter to keep out of the project. Nechaev's letter suggests that Lyubavin's interest in Marx's work was financial rather than ideological.

Scientific and academic career Saint Petersburg University In 1874, Lyubavin defended his Master's thesis, Ammoniacal Compounds of Valeric Aldehyde. By September 1880, he was appointed Privatdozent and began lecturing on chemistry. He taught a specialized course on nitrogenous organic substances titled "Glycines and Amides of Carbonic Acid" and, from 1885 to 1886, delivered a general course on technical chemistry. He was initially enrolled as a Privatdozent. In 1887, he defended his doctoral dissertation, On Pyridine Compounds. He was promoted to Extraordinary Professor in 1890 and served as an Ordinary Professor in the Department of Technology and Technical Chemistry from 1898 to 1907.

At Moscow University, Lyubavin delivered lectures on technical chemistry. Under the University Statute of 1884, this course became an elective discipline. His curriculum covered the technology of building materials, metals, salts, acids, alkalis, fats, oils, wax, and food technology. He also organized factory excursions for students.

Selected works Lyubavin authored numerous scientific papers and textbooks. His major publications include: Ammiachnye soedineniya valerianovogo aldegida [Ammoniacal Compounds of Valeric Aldehyde]. St. Petersburg: A. Benke, 1874. Fizicheskaya khimiya [Physical Chemistry]. St. Petersburg: I. I. Bilibin, 1876—1877. O piridinnykh soedineniyakh [On Pyridine Compounds]. Moscow: M. G. Volchaninov, 1887. Tekhnicheskaya khimiya [Technical Chemistry]. Moscow: University Press, 1897—1926. (7 volumes).