Sergey Vasilyevich Kravkov (Russian: ; 31 May 1893 – 16 March 1951) was a Russian psychologist and psychophysiologist, Doctor of Science in Biology (1935), Corresponding Member of the Academy of Science of the USSR and the Academy of Medical Science of the USSR (1946). He is considered one of the founders of physiological optics, a scientific discipline that studies physiological processes, physical and psychic regularities which characterize the functioning of the organs of human vision.
Biography
Kravkov was born 31 May 1893 in Ryazan in the family of Vasily Pavlovich Kravkov (1859–1920), an army medical officer. At the time of his birth his father held a rank of a Court Councilor (VII grade of the Table of Ranks) and served as a senior physician in the 137th "Nezhinsky" Infantry Regiment based in Ryazan. The future scientist's mother, Elena Alexeyevna, née Lukina (1870 – ) came of a family of hereditary gentry in the Ryazan Governorate.
From 1903 to 1911 Kravkov attended the First Ryazan Gimnasium. After leaving it, the future scientist was admitted to the Imperial Moscow University, where he studied at the Faculty of History and Philology. From 1912 Kravkov was also a student at the Lydia Schukina Psychology Institute attached to Moscow University and from 1915 worked there as an assistant. The beginning of Kravkov's scientific activity is considered to be his report Objective psychology, its subject and significance, presented to the annual session of the Psychology Institute. The young scientist's abilities were highly appreciated by the institute's Director, Professor Chelpanov.
In 1916, Kravkov graduated from the university magna cum laude with a qualification in experimental psychology. He was left at the university's Psychology Chair to be prepared for the professor's rank.
Working at the Psychology Institute (up to 1923) from 1920 to 1932, Kravkov was also a senior assistant of the Institute of Biological Physics of the People's Commissariat for Health of the RSFSR, where he worked under the guidance of academician Pyotr Lazarev. Those years he studied physics and mathematics and also started his own experimental research of physiology of the eyesight. Kravkov carried out an active pedagogical work in Moscow higher institutions: from 1924 to 1929 he was a senior lecturer at the Higher Art and Technical Studios (Vkhutemas), teaching colorimetry, since 1927 he had been associated professor on physiological optics at the Light Technical Department of the Moscow Energy Institute. In 1932 the scientist became professor of physiological optics of the Moscow Energy Institute. In addition to that since 1920 Kravkov had carried on pedagogical and research work in a number of Moscow higher institutions — the Military Pedagogical Academy, the Moscow Plekhanov Institute of People's Economy, the State Academy of Arts, the All-Union Electrical Engineering Institute, etc.
In 1935, on the basis of a career of published works, Kravkov was awarded a scientific rank of Doctor of Science in Biology with the qualification in psychophysiology of the eyesight. From 1935 to 1938 he was professor of physiology chair of the biological faculty of the Moscow State University.
Since 1936 Kravkov had headed the Laboratory of Physiological Optics at the State Central Helmholtz Institute of Ophthalmology (now the Moscow Helmholtz Scientific Research Institute of Eye Diseases), created by him and laternamed after him. At the same time Kravkov headed the Laboratory of Perception Psychophysiology at the Psychology Institute of the Academy of Pedagogical Science.
During World War II Kravkov worked in a neurosurgical hospital at the problems of rehabilitation of the eyesight. Since 1945 he had created and had been in charge of the Laboratory of Physiological Optics at the Philosophy Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. From 1946 to 1951 he was professor of philosophy faculty of the Moscow State University.
Kravkov was an Academic Secretary (since 1943) and Vice Chairman of the Commission on Physiological Optics at the Biological Department at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. He was also a member of the commission on lightning engineering at the Department of Technical Sciences at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1947–1951).
In 1946 Kravkov was elected corresponding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR and Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1947 he was given a title of Honoured Scientist of the RSFSR.