Otto Shmidt: Algebra on the Ice
Otto Shmidt (1891 – 1966) Russian Arctic explorer, mathematician, astronomer.

Otto Shmidt was born in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogilev"Mogilev, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus"Belarus. His father was a descendant of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans"German settlers in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courland"Courland.
. After the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Revolution_of_1917"October Revolution of 1917, he was a board member of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Commissar"People's Commissariats. Shmidt was one of the chief proponents of developing a higher education system, publishing and science in HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Russia"Soviet Russia.
Shmidt was also the director of the Russia State Publishing House from 1921-1924, and chief editor of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Soviet_Encyclopedia"Great Soviet Encyclopedia from 1924-1941. From 1923-1956, he was a professor at the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_State_University"Moscow State University, and from 1930-1932, Schmidt was the head of the Arctic Institute.

From 1932-1939, Shmidt was appointed director of HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Directorate_of_the_Northern_Sea_Route"Glavsevmorput' an establishment that oversaw all commercial operations on the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Sea_Route"Northern Sea Route. From 1939-1942, he became HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vice-president"vice-president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, where he organized the Institute of Theoretical Geophysics.

Otto Shmidt was a founder of the Moscow Algebra School, which he directed for many years.
In mid 1940s, Shmidt suggested a new HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmogonical"cosmological HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothesis"hypothesis on the formation of the HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth"Earth and