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Mendeleyev was preparing seriously this important experiment. He suggested, e. g. to use for flight a balloon, filled not with a coal gas, but with the hydrogen, which provided the raise to the big height and, therefore, guaranteed the success of the observation.
On August, 7
, in spite of the early morning-hour, an enormous crowd of people gathered at the place of start of the balloon, near Klin: scientists, close friends of Mendeleyev and just those, who wished to see this exciting show. It was supposed that Mendeleyev and pilot-aeronaut A. M. Kovanyko would fly. However, the balloon became wet because of the bad weather and appeared to be unable to raise two people. Mendeleyev flew alone. Mendeleyev wrote in his notes about the flight: “… however, I should explain the reason why I had an immediate determination to travel alone, when it turned out that the balloon wasn’t able to raise both of us… Understanding that we, professors, and scientists in general, are considered everywhere to be able to say and advise but not to be able to manage the practical work, that we, the Shchedrin’s generals, always need a peasant to do something otherwise we are all fingers and thumbs, – played a great role in my decision. I wanted to demonstrate that this view might be fair in some other cases, but unfair regarding the naturalists, who are passing their lives in their laboratories, at the excursions and in the research of nature in general. We should certainly be able to manage practice… and there was an excellent opportunity for it.”
The air-balloon raised high not enough and the sun was partly covered with the clouds, nevertheless, the scientist described the shape, color and the size of the corona in his essay in details.
Since Mendeleyev had lifted and landed the balloon skillfully, many people started talking about the coincidence of happy chances, which had allowed to make the flight so successful. Mendeleyev couldn’t agree with such an explanation and added to the famous words of Suvorov: “Good luck, God forbid, good luck” – “There is something necessary except it. Both beauty, if not always, but most often corresponds to the high measure of advisability, and good luck – to the calm and completely reasonable attitude to the goal and means.”
The air-balloon “Russian”, on which D. I. Mendeleyev flew from Klin on August, 7
of 1887 during the solar eclipse
In the middle of the 1880’s serious changes in the system of higher education happened again. The liberal Charter of the University existed till 1884. On August, 23
Alexander III signed the bill of the minister of public education I. D. Delyanov about abolishing the “liberties of 1863.” The law liquidated the autonomy of the University and placed its life under the care of the minister and of the curator of educational district. Essentially the charter had put big obstacles on the way to the perfection of education and to the development of science in the universities. The system of higher education obeyed even more the State, the social staff of the student organisation was being changed. Most of the professors of Petersburg University sharply disapproved the university counter-reform.
During the period of preparing the charter Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev still sharply objected to it. He thought that the maximum openness of the defences and publication of positive and negative responses was necessary. “On the whole, he wrote, the “new” Charter of the University has deprived the universities’ boards of the former trust. It is impossible to build the enlightenment properly without trusting the general staff of the professors.” The Ministry of Public Education started limiting visibly the activity of Mendeleyev within the precincts of Petersburg University, obstructing his work. The scientist saw that the University was giving him less and less opportunities for realizing his ideas. He started accomplishing big deals and beginnings outside the University more and more often, which finally prepared his leaving.
The information about the threatening student meeting at the University appeared in home notes of D. I. Mendeleyev on March, 13
of 1890. Professors A. A. Inostrantsev and V. V. Dokuchaev made him a request to call the students for peace in case of need. Mendeleyev agreed. On March, 14
he spoke to the students, suggesting them to go away, but while understanding the correctness of many requests of those who had gathered at the meeting he addressed to the Minister for Public Education I. D. Delyanov and told him about the requests of the students. On March, 15
he persuaded the students before the lecture to give him the petition written by them in order to deliver it to the minister.
From the petition of the students to the Minister for Public Education:
“We want the charter of the universities and other high educational institutions to be based on the principles of autonomy – so that the rector and professors would be elected according to the Charter of the university of 1863, so that the university and student court would have been established… so that all the graduates of high schools regardless of religion, social position and without any secret characteristics from the direction of gymnasium and police would have a free access to the University… We are sure that the freedom of teaching will be given to our professors along with it…”
As we may see, those were the requests for the democratization of the university education, which were usual for that time. However, on March, 16
