Vladimir Vladimirovich Tikhomirov (; 25 October 1915 â 13 January 1994) was a Soviet and Russian geologist and historian of geoscience. He specialized in the regional geology of the Caucasus, stratigraphy, and tectonics, but is best known as a founder and organizer of the discipline of history of geology. He established the first dedicated academic unit for the history of geology in the USSR and was a founder and the first president of the International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences (INHIGEO).
Tikhomirov was born in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) in 1915. His father, Vladimir Ivanovich Tikhomirov (1881âÂÂ1961), was a professor of physical chemistry and an Honored Scientist of the Azerbaijan SSR. In 1920, the family moved to Baku.
He began working as a laboratory assistant at the Azerbaijan Petroleum Institute in 1931. In 1932, he entered the Geological Prospecting Faculty of the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute in Baku. As a student from 1935 to 1937, he participated in geological mapping in the Caucasus under the guidance of V. E. Khain, studying Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits and olistostromes. He graduated with distinction in 1938.
After graduation, Tikhomirov worked as a field geologist for the Azerbaijan Geological Department, leading survey and prospecting parties. He studied deposits of gypsum, cinnabar, oil shale, and bentonite clays, compiling geological maps and gathering material for a candidate's dissertation. During this period, he also received military training. In the spring of 1939, he qualified as a reserve officer and became a Junior Lieutenant specializing as an aerial observer.
Despite being in a reserved occupation as a geologist, Tikhomirov volunteered for active duty in 1942 during World War II. After political training, he was sent to the Leningrad Front as a political commissar (zampolit) for a communications squadron of the 13th Air Army. Commissars were forbidden from flying combat missions, but Tikhomirov obtained permission to fly from February 1943, becoming one of only two "flying commissars" on the Leningrad Front. In May 1943, he became the squadron's navigator.
On 18 April 1944, he was severely wounded by a mine explosion near the village of Sitenka, resulting in total blindness. He was treated in hospitals in Luga and Leningrad, and consulted with the renowned ophthalmologist Vladimir Filatov in Odessa, but his sight could not be restored.
After demobilization due to his disability, Tikhomirov enrolled in postgraduate studies at the Moscow Geological Prospecting Institute (MGRI), with crucial support from Professor V. V. Belousov. He dictated his research to assistants who read scientific literature to him for many hours each day. In the spring of 1949, he defended his dissertation on the geology of the Lesser Caucasus. Based on extensive pre-war field data, the dissertation was so comprehensive that the academic council first recommended a candidate's degree, but three months later, after a third opponent's review, he was awarded the higher degree of Doctor of Sciences.
In 1949, invited by Academician Nikolai Shatsky, Tikhomirov joined the Institute of Geological Sciences (IGN) of the USSR Academy of Sciences (later GIN AN SSSR, now GIN RAS). In May 1950, he was approved as a senior researcher in tectonics and was tasked with creating a new academic unit.
He founded and headed the cabinet (later department) of history of geology, the first institution in the USSR dedicated to the systematic study of the history of geological knowledge. He led this department for decades, building a research team and establishing it as a national and international coordinating center.
In 1953, he founded the influential publication series "Essays on the History of Geological Knowledge" (Ocherki po istorii geologicheskikh znaniy), serving as its editor until 1992. That same year, he was also urged by Academician Vladimir Obruchev in letters to continue work in the history of geology. In January 1955, he was approved as a professor in the history of geological sciences. His co-authored textbook on the history of geology was translated into Chinese and had a significant impact on spreading the discipline.
Tikhomirov was a key figure in establishing the history of geology as an international scientific field. In 1967, he founded and became the first president (serving until 1976) of the International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences (INHIGEO), which operates under the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science. He remained active in the organization as past president, vice-president, and bureau member until his death.
He also served as:
Vladimir Tikhomirov died in Moscow on 13 January 1994. His official farewell was held at the Geological Institute RAS, and he was buried at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery (section 3).
Tikhomirov received numerous awards for his military service, scientific work, and contributions to education:
He was a member of geological societies of different countries.:
Tikhomirov was the author of over 200 scientific works, including monographs and textbooks.