Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky
Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839-88), Russian geographer, traveler and researcher of Central Asia, Honorary Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In 1867-69 he headed an expedition to the Ussuri area and in 1870-73 to Mongolia, China and Tibet. He determined the direction of the mountain ridges of Central Asia, and discovered, described and made vast collections of previously unknown species of animals. His books include A Journey in the Ussuri Area in 1867-69 (1870), From Kuldzha to Tian Shan and Beyond and to Lobnor (1878). His name was given to a town in Kirghiztan, a ridge in the mountain system of Kunlun, a glacier in Altai and many other geographical landmarks and species of animals and plants discovered by him. In 1891 the Russian Geographical Society established a silver medal and a prize in his honour. And in 1946 the Przhevalsky Gold Medal was instituted.
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