An Appreciation, on the Occasion of his 90th Birthday, of Academician K. I. Skrjabin: Founder of the Soviet Helminthological School

Abstract

On December 7th, 1968, Academician K. I. Skrjabin celebrated his ninetieth birthday and completed 63 years of his scientific career. From humble beginnings as a student of Veterinary Medicine and Natural History at Juriev University where he qualified in the year 1905, he has traversed the long path which led him to become a very distinguished scientist with an international reputation and one of the outstanding helminthologists of all time. His interest in helminthology began during his veterinary work in Central Asia where he made extensive collections of helminths from all groups of vertebrate animals. These he studied from 1912 to 1914 under the guidance of European specialists in helminthology, viz, with Professors Braun and Lühe of Germany, with Professor Fuhrmann of Switzerland and with Professors Railliet and Henry of France. His studies and publications at this time inaugurated Skrjabin as an erudite and accomplished helminthologist and his master's thesis, submitted in 1916, entitled: “Contributions to the characteristics of the helminth fauna of domestic animals in Turkestan” was a brilliant piece of work. In this he emphasised the necessity of establishing special chairs of parasitology and infectious diseases at Veterinary Institutes and Medical Faculties of Universities. A year later the first chair of parasitology was established, at the Novocherkassk Veterinary Institute, and Skrjabin was appointed to it, thus becoming the first professor of parasitology in the country.