Yakov Perelman

Yakov Isidorovich Perelman was born on December 4, 1882 (November 22, Old Style) in the city of Bialystok, Grodno Governorate (now the territory of the Republic of Belarus). His father worked as an accountant at one of the cloth factories, and his mother taught in the primary grades. In 1890 Yakov went to the first grade of primary school, and on August 18, 1895, he entered the Bialystok Real School, the city’s only secondary educational institution. Gifted by nature and hardworking, he was very fortunate in his teachers, who strove to give their pupils not only knowledge, but also to instill in them the skills of independent thinking, the ability to conduct scientific inquiry, and not to lose heart in the face of difficulties. Y.I. Perelman’s activity as a popularizer of science began during his school years. On September 23, 1899, under the pseudonym “Y.P.” he published in the newspaper Grodnenskie Gubernskie Vedomosti the essay “On the Subject of the Expected Fiery Rain.” The publication of the article inspired Yakov, and he began to apply himself to his studies even more diligently. On July 3 he graduated from the Bialystok Real School, and in August of the same year was enrolled in the Forestry Institute in St. Petersburg. Although the institute trained forestry specialists, it also provided an excellent general higher education. Alongside the teaching of special subjects, considerable time was devoted to higher mathematics and physics, which was especially close to the young Perelman. His first essay, “The Centenary of the Asteroids,” was printed in No. 4 of the journal Nature and People for 1901. Perelman also signed it with the initials “Y.P.,” which later accompanied many of his publications. In 1908 Perelman defended his diploma thesis on the topic “The Old Russian State Sawmill Plant: Its Equipment and Operations,” passed his final examinations, and on January 22, 1909, received his diploma with honors. He was awarded the title of “scientific forester of the first rank.” However, Perelman never worked as a forester. Forest thickets did not attract him at all. Already in his student years he began collaborating with the journal Nature and People, in which he published his popular-science