Born into a Spanish noble family. In 1417, his ancestor, the French navigator Jean de Bettencourt, conquered the Canary Islands and declared himself king.
Having been educated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid (1781), B. continued his studies at the Paris School of Bridges and Roads. Then - a trip to England, where he gets acquainted with steam engines.
By the age of 30, B. had turned into a major research engineer. This contributed to his rapid career. In 1788 he became director of the Royal Cabinet of Machines in Madrid. In 1798 he was appointed head of the construction of the first telegraph in Spain (Madrid-Cadiz). He used binary encoding of information in his telegraph, each letter was assigned an 8-bit code (as in modern computers), thereby being 47 years ahead of Samuel Morse.
From 1800 - Inspector General of the Corps of Communications he created, as well as all roads and bridges in Spain, Quartermaster of the Provinces, member of the Council of Finance, 1803 - Chief Quartermaster of the Army and Director General of the Post Office.
In 1807, due to political changes in the country, he left Spain and moved to France. In 1808, he was invited to serve by the Russian government with the rank of major general and sent to the Department of Railways.
During the 16 years of his service in Russia, B. made a lot of efforts to transform Russia into a technologically advanced country. Under his leadership, the following was carried out: the re-equipment of the Tula Arms Plant with the installation of steam engines made according to his drawings; construction of a new cannon foundry in Kazan; re-equipment of the Aleksandrovskaya cotton manufactory (Pavlovsk); deepening the port in Kronstadt and constructing a canal between the Izhora plant and St. Petersburg using the steam dredging machine he invented in 1810.
On his initiative, in 1810 the Institute of Railways was established in St. Petersburg, which B. led until the end of his life. He developed and proposed a curriculum according to which they trained broad-spectrum engineers capable of conducting any construction work. B. formulated the main goal of the educational institution as follows: “... to supply Russia with engineers who, right after leaving the institution, could be assigned to work in the Empire.” The institute, which he led until the end of his life, laid the foundations for the future domestic engineering school.
The organizational abilities of the talented engineer-inventor were appreciated, as evidenced by his appointment to the post of head of the Committee for Constructions and Hydraulic Works in St. Petersburg (1816), and then as the chief director of Russian railways (1819).
Best of the day
According to the plans and under the direct leadership of B., the construction of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers was carried out (1818). The need to improve the production of banknotes was dictated by the huge number of counterfeit banknotes that were in Russian circulation after the war with Napoleon. A whole town was built, which housed the building of the paper-making department, the printing department, mechanical, engraving, numbering and plate workshops, the board, apartments for officials and employees, barracks for workers, and a guard.
At the same time, B. worked on the technology of making paper and banknotes. Shortly after the launch of production, Expedition paper received high quality assessments and began to be supplied abroad. The report on the work done earned the emperor "the highest favor." By decree of Alexander I, B. was awarded the Order of Vladimir, 2nd degree.
He took part in the construction of the Manege in Moscow. When working on the project, B. had to solve the problem of covering a huge area for those times (166 X 45 m), and do this without intermediate supports, so that the internal space would be suitable for shows and parades. The structure turned out to be strong, and soon a whole regiment of soldiers marched freely under its arches. (The original name of the Manege was Exertsirgauz).
At the beginning of the 19th century, Nizhny Novgorod became a center of international trade. In 1817, construction of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair began. Determining the location for the construction of a permanent fair was entrusted to B. In 1820, Gostiny Dvor was built on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair according to B.’s design, and in 1821 the fair was a large shopping complex. The construction was completed by the followers of the great scientist. Currently, the only surviving building of the fair is the Transfiguration Cathedral.
In 1820, on B.'s initiative, the School of Railway Conductors and the Military Construction School for training junior specialists in builders and foremen, craftsmen, and draftsmen for the railway department were opened, which laid the foundation for the state system of special secondary technical education in Russia.
He was a member of the commission for the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral and created the necessary technical means for its construction. Scaffolding and lifting mechanisms built according to his designs allowed Montferrand to lift and install the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column on Palace Square.
B. was also one of the founders of bridge construction in Russia. The Kamenny bridges on the Moskovskoe highway, the Isaakievsky pontoon bridge across the Neva, the arched bridge across the Malaya Nevka between Aptekarsky and Kamenny Islands in St. Petersburg are the fruits of his engineering thought. He participated in the construction of many other structures, including: the first major highway in Russia, St. Petersburg - Novgorod - Moscow (1818-1822); Taitsky water supply; Mint in Warsaw; St. George's Church at the Bolsheokhtinsky cemetery in St. Petersburg.
B. also invented the first machine for working in a mercury mine, a unit for cleaning industrial coal, an optical telegraph, was the first to launch a hot air balloon in Madrid, developed a winding installation for wool production, invented and implemented a unique unit for that time - a water dredge , as well as a machine for underwater cutting of piles. The activities of the “Russian Spaniard” for the benefit of Russia did not go unnoticed, and B. was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
In 1823, B.’s beloved daughter died suddenly, which greatly affected her health. In February 1824 he resigned. According to some reports, Arakcheev was the initiator of the resignation. On July 14 of the same year he dies. The burial took place in St. Petersburg at the Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery. A majestic monument was erected at the grave, made at an iron foundry in Nizhny Novgorod according to a drawing by Montferrand. It was a gift from Nizhny Novgorod merchants as a sign of gratitude to the creator of the fair ensemble. Reburied in 1979 in the Necropolis of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
On July 27, 1995, the Ministry of Railways of Russia established a commemorative medal named after Betancourt. Medal number 2 was awarded to the King of Spain, Juan Carlos.
B. lived in St. Petersburg at the following addresses: emb. R. Fontanka, 115; Sadovaya st., 50-a; Moskovsky pr., 9, Bolshaya Morskaya st., 19.
Portrait from the 1810s. Author unknown.
Augustin de Betancourt and Molina, full name Augustin José Pedro del Carmen Domingo de Candelaria de Betancourt y Molina(Spanish: Agustín José Pedro del Carmen Domingo de Candelaria de Betancourt y Molina) - Spanish, then Russian statesman and scientist, lieutenant general of the Russian service, architect, builder, mechanical engineer and organizer of the transport system of the Russian Empire.
Augustin Betancourt was born in Spain, in the Canary Islands, on the island of Tenerife on February 1, 1758. He came from an ancient and very influential noble family, both in ancient times and to this day. The founder of the family was the famous navigator Jean (Juan) de Betancourt, a Norman nobleman, conqueror of the Canary Islands. The Catholic saint Pedro de San José Betancourt supposedly belonged to this family. Of the living representatives of the family, the most famous are Liliane Betancourt, owner of L'Oréal and Colombian politician and senator Ingrid Betancourt.
Augustine Betancourt received his education in Paris. The Spanish government sent Betancourt to France, England, Germany and the Netherlands to become familiar with canal navigation systems, new steam engines and other discoveries in the field of technology. Then in London he studied machines for draining gold and silver mines.
In 1798, Betancourt was entrusted with the organization of the Spanish Corps of Railway Engineers. In Spain, he was appointed inspector general of the royal cabinet of machinery, quartermaster of the army, and chief director of posts.
In 1801, Betancourt left his fatherland and moved to Paris. In France, he published a number of scientific papers on hydraulics and created a design for a new sluice designed for small canals. In the fall of 1807, Augustine Betancourt came to Russia and was accepted into the civil service with the rank of major general, but two years later he became a lieutenant general.
Betancourt brilliantly confirmed his reputation as a scientist and mechanical engineer: under his leadership, the Tula Arms Plant was refurbished and equipped with steam engines, the Taitsky water pipeline was built, which supplied Tsarskoe Selo with water; he owns a fundamentally new solution for constructing an arched bridge system in Tula, Izhora, Peterhof, and in St. Petersburg on Kamenny Island; he supervised the construction and equipment of a foundry in Kazan, drew up designs and supervised the construction of the famous Nizhny Novgorod fair. One of Betancourt’s significant works was the construction of a huge exertzirhaus (a room for military exercises in inclement weather) in Moscow - the well-known Manezh, the ingenious ceilings of which, created by Betancourt, survived until 2004.
Betancourt's contribution to the development of engineering education in Russia is especially great. On his initiative and project, the country's first Institute of Railway Engineers was founded in St. Petersburg in 1809. To house this educational institution, the state treasury purchased the palace of Prince Yusupov on the Fontanka. At Betancourt's suggestion, the French officer Sennover was appointed director of the institute. The trustees were the Prince of Oldenburg and Lieutenant General Betancourt himself, who was appointed head of the institute.
In 1816, Betancourt became the chairman of the newly established Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works in St. Petersburg, essentially an institution that supervised all construction work in the city.
Since 1819, he has headed the Main Directorate of Communications. This talented engineer owns a number of inventions. He created a unique machine for cleaning the waters of the Kronstadt seaport.
In 1820, on the initiative of Betancourt, the School of Railway Conductors and the Military Construction School for training junior specialists in builders and foremen, craftsmen, and draftsmen for the railway department were opened, which marked the beginning of the state system of special secondary technical education in Russia.
Augustine Betancourt was a member of scientific societies in Russia and Europe; he authored scientific works published in Paris, London, St. Petersburg and other European cities. The devices and mechanisms created by him have found wide application in construction.
Betancourt created a school of widely educated engineers. His students took part in the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral (including the famous Montferrand).
Betancourt died on July 26 (July 14, old style) 1824. He was buried in St. Petersburg at the Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery and reburied in 1979 in the Necropolis of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
The grave of A. A. Betancourt at the Lazarevskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.
In the year of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, in tribute to the famous scientist and engineer Augustine Betancourt, a monument was erected in front of the building of the St. Petersburg State University of Transport (PGUPS), the founder and first rector of which he was. The author of the monument project is sculptor, Honored Cultural Worker of the RSFSR, Academician Vladimir Gorevoy.
Text from the book:
Famous Kronstadt residents. - St. Petersburg: Russian classics. 2012. - 336 p. Page 42 - 43.
Note:
* In the Canary Islands, the surname Bettencourt is borne by both the descendants of Jean de Bettencourt's nephew Macio, who replaced his uncle as ruler of the Canaries, and the descendants of the natives - the Guanches, to whom Jean de Bettencourt gave his surname at baptism
I want to dwell on the personality of the amazing fate of a man, an engineer Augustin Augustinovich de Betancourt and Molina. He was born in the Canary Islands and served in Spain and France, where he became a recognized expert in engineering. Then his fruitful service began in Russia, where he became a lieutenant general, chief manager of communications, a prominent engineer and statesman. He did many useful things for the glory of Russia; he built bridges, roads, factories, hydraulic structures, and created a number of important inventions. His posthumous fate is also interesting: he was buried at the Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery, but in 1979 his ashes and tombstone were transferred to the 18th-century Necropolis (formerly Lazarevskoye Cemetery) in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
The article provides a biography of the engineer and statesman and information about his grave.
Biography:
BETANCUR Augustin Augustinovich (Augustin José Pedro del Carmen Domingo de Candelaria de Betancourt and Molina) ( February 1, 1758 – June 14, 1824) – Lieutenant General (since 1809).
From an old Spanish noble family. Son of Lieutenant Colonel Augustin de Betancourt and Castro from his marriage to Leonora de Molina and Briolis. Born in Puerto de la Cruz, on the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. In July 1777 he entered the Spanish service. In 1780 he graduated from the Royal School of Saint Isidore in Madrid, while studying drawing at the Madrid Academy of Fine Arts; in the 1780s he continued his studies in Paris, and in the 1790s he improved in the field of engineering in England; was Inspector General of the Corps of Road and Bridge Engineers, Provincial Quartermaster, Member of the Council of Finance, Director of the Royal Cabinet of Engines, Quartermaster of the Army and Chief Director of Posts. In 1807-1808 he lived in Paris, where he published French a number of his scientific works (including “Course in the Construction of Machines”, 1808), and from 1809 a corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences. In 1807 he came to Russia.
In September 1808 he was introduced in Erfurt to Emperor Alexander I and, as a skilled engineer, in November 1808 he was accepted into the Russian service with the rank of major general with enlistment in the Retinue of H. I. V. and was assigned to the department of communications. In August 1809 he was promoted to lieutenant general. Since 1809, member of the council of the Corps of Railway Engineers; carried out an inspection and developed a project for the reconstruction of the Vyshnevolotsk, Tikhvin and Mariinsk water systems; in the same year he prepared a project for the reconstruction of the Tula Arms Plant. In 1810-1811, according to Betancourt's design, the first dredge was built at the Izhora plant to clean and deepen the water area of the Kronstadt port; in 1812, according to his design, a foundry and cannon factory was built in Kazan. In 1816-1818, under the leadership of Betancourt and according to his design, the building of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers in St. Petersburg was built (the production facility was equipped with machines and mechanisms designed by Betancourt). According to Betancourt's designs, bridges were also built on the Moscow Highway across the Slavyanka and Izhora rivers near St. Petersburg, the Kamennoostrovsky and Bumazhny bridges in St. Petersburg, and Manege in Moscow. He supervised the technical part of the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg.
Betancourt is one of the organizers of engineering education in Russia: according to his project, the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers was opened in St. Petersburg in 1810 (until the end of his life, Betancourt served as its inspector, head of the economic and educational department, and at the same time gave lectures on engineering). In 1816, he organized and headed the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works in St. Petersburg, which was entrusted with “the review of drawings for all public, state-owned and private buildings and other buildings in this capital.” In the fall of 1816 he was appointed chairman of the Committee for the transfer of the Makaryevskaya Fair to Nizhny Novgorod. In 1818-1822 he participated in the design and construction of the first major highway in Russia, St. Petersburg - Novgorod - Moscow.
From April 1819 to August 1822, chief director of the Main Directorate of Railways. On his initiative, in 1819-1820, Military Construction and Conductor schools were created in St. Petersburg, training specialists for the department of railways. Retired since February 1824. He was awarded a number of the highest Russian orders, up to and including the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1811). Died in St. Petersburg at the age of 66; buried there at the Smolensk Lutheran cemetery.
A prominent engineer who did a lot for Russia, Betancourt, according to contemporaries, was a man of short stature, a large, high forehead and large, intelligent and slightly sad eyes. People who knew him remembered him as a kind and good person, very friendly to his employees and subordinates, quick-tempered, like all southerners, and overly trusting. According to F.F. Vigel, “he had an abyss of intelligence, and his conversation was entertaining. The aristocratic feeling, however, never left him, even at the machine at which he worked when he had nothing else to do.” Not knowing the Russian language, he even signed in French, and his official papers during his management of communication routes were often also written in French. Despite the fact that he had strong enemies in Russia, he enjoyed the constant support of Emperor Alexander I.
From his marriage (from 1790) with Anna Jourdan (died in 1853) he had three daughters and a son, Alfons Augustinovich (1805-1875), who served as an officer in the guard, and then as a lieutenant general and adjutant general.
Biography published by:
Grave:
Augustin Augustinovich(Augustin Jose Pedro del Carmen Domingo de Candelaria) de Betancourt and Molina died on June 14, 1824 in St. Petersburg.
And was buried on Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery, but in 1979 he was reburied in Necropolis of the 18th century.
Buried in Necropolis of the 18th century(former Lazarevskoe cemetery) V Alexander Nevsky Lavra in the city Saint Petersburg. The grave is located on the path that is named after him Betankurovskaya. It goes to the left from the entrance to the necropolis museum, towards the gate temple and the Moscow Hotel. The tombstone on the grave of A. A. de Betancourt and Molina is the highest in this necropolis.
Izyaslav Tveretsky,
June 2010
.
Originally a Spaniard, a French engineer, a Russian general and organizer of engineering education in Russia.
In 2013, the Ministry of Transport Russian Federation established a departmental award - the Augustin Betancourt Medal, which is awarded to employees of educational organizations for outstanding personal achievements in organizing training and advanced training of specialists for the transport complex, introducing innovative technologies, forms and methods of teaching and developing transport science into the educational process.
Augustin Augustinovich Betancourt (Augustin José Pedro del Carmen Domingo de Candelaria de Betancourt y Molina) was born on February 1, 1758 in Spain on the island of Tenerife.
His childhood was spent in an educated bourgeois family, in which his character and inclinations towards scientific research and technical creativity were formed. At the age of 20, Augustine came to Madrid, where he was educated at the Royal School of St. Isidore and the Academy of Fine Arts, becoming one of the most educated people in Spain.
At the age of 25, he demonstrated the first flight in Spain hot air balloon. Soon after this, he carried out an important government assignment, preparing a report on the state of mercury mining, and then a report on the construction of a canal in Aragon.
At the beginning of glorious deeds
At the age of 26, he becomes an academician of fine arts, and is sent to continue his education in Paris, where he brilliantly graduates from the Paris School of Bridges and Roads. He shows particular interest in the problems of creating machines and mechanisms for the construction of buildings, bridges, port facilities, for the construction of roads and canals, mines and mines.
Then the Spanish government sends him to Western European countries to observe various shipping systems, canals, steam engines, etc. After several years of intense study and work, by the age of 30 he had become a major research engineer. In 1788 he was appointed director of the Royal Cabinet of Machines in Madrid.
I choose Russia
In 1799 Betancourt was appointed general director communication routes in Spain. With his characteristic energy, he set about rebuilding the country's transportation system and founded the Madrid School of Road, Canal and Bridge Engineers, but the unrest that arose in Spain forced Betancourt to leave the country. For some time he lived in Paris. His scientific and practical activities were noticed, and soon the Russian ambassador I.M. Muravyov-Apostol invited him to “try himself in Russia.”
In September 1808 in Erfurt, Betancourt was introduced to Emperor Alexander I and, as a skilled engineer, in November 1808 he was accepted into the Russian service with the rank of major general with enrollment in the retinue of His Imperial Majesty, and was also assigned to the department of communications.
From his very arrival in St. Petersburg, the famous engineer participated in solving problems of almost all construction projects of national importance in Russia. Here a wide field was open for him to apply his knowledge.
In labors and concerns for the benefit of the new Motherland
In 1809-1812, Betancourt created an original mechanical multi-bucket dredge with a steam engine for cleaning river beds and canals. In August 1812, the dredger, manufactured at the Izhora plant, was delivered to Kronstadt, where it carried out dredging work in the port waters.
Betancourt introduced new and improved old machines for the Aleksandrovskaya cotton manufactory in Pavlovsk.
In 1812, according to Betancourt's design, a foundry and cannon factory was built in Kazan.
In 1812-1814, according to his own project, the outdated Taitsky water pipeline was reconstructed in Tsarskoe Selo, with a total length of about 15 kilometers.
In 1813, according to Betancourt’s design, the first permanent (wooden arch) bridge across the Malaya Nevka, called “Kamennoostrovsky”, was built. Machines, structures and devices for the construction of a wooden arched bridge were created under the leadership of Betancourt in the workshops of the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers that he created. This bridge was a masterpiece of bridge construction for its time. According to his designs, bridges were also built on the Moscow Highway across the Slavyanka and Izhora rivers near St. Petersburg.
In 1814, under the leadership of Betancourt, a special commission was created for the construction of the Obvodny Canal, which began at the end of the 18th century. and suspended for years Patriotic War 1812.
In 1816, Betancourt organized and headed the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works in St. Petersburg, which was entrusted with “the review of drawings for all public, state and private buildings and other buildings in this capital.” Under the supervision of the Committee, major urban development activities were carried out in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Arkhangelsk, and Kyiv. Thus, the Committee played a decisive role in the examination and implementation of projects for the development of St. Petersburg with unique ensembles and structures (Palace, Senate, Mikhailovskaya squares, Field of Mars).
In 1816-1818, under the leadership of Betancourt and according to his project, the assignment factory “Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers” was erected in St. Petersburg (now the Goznak factory).
One of the achievements was the development of a method of forming watermarks (filigree) not yet known in world practice. The watermark began to be obtained by stamping it on a grid (grids pressed from stamps with a medallion character of the engraving began to be sewn onto scooping forms).
In the fall of 1816, Betancourt was appointed chairman of the Committee for the transfer of the Makaryevskaya Fair to Nizhny Novgorod. In November of the same year, by decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire, Betancourt received “sole and independent disposal... of the entire construction part of the said fair.” The purpose of the construction was to create the best shopping complex in Europe.
From that moment until 1822 (the opening of fair trades), Betancourt spent every summer in Nizhny Novgorod and personally supervised the work at all stages of construction.
At the direction of Betancourt, an “engineering house” was erected opposite the fair, where his employees lived. Near the village of Gordeevka, he established the work of three brick factories that produced up to 3 million bricks annually. In parallel with the work at the fair, A. Betancourt in 1819 developed a regular plan for the coastal part of the city, identifying locations for future stone and wooden buildings.
Chief Director of the Transport Directorate of the Russian Empire
In November 1818, Lieutenant General A. Betancourt was appointed Chief Director of the Office of Water and Land Communications (communication routes) and held this post until September 1822. He began his new duties with a long inspection tour, reaching the most remote places of the empire, including Georgia and the ports of the Black Sea.
Returning from a business trip in 1820, Betancourt sat down to prepare an extensive report, in which he harshly but fairly criticized the state of Russian communications and proposed the need for major investments in the modernization of transport infrastructure.
From the first days of work, he ensured the continuation of the construction of the Moscow highway St. Petersburg–Novgorod–Moscow, which began in 1817. For construction artificial structures On it, Betancourt created a special Directorate for the construction of bridges. I personally monitored the pace and quality of construction. Already on September 1, 1820, regular stagecoach traffic opened between St. Petersburg and Moscow, although the final finishing of the road was still ongoing.
While in this position, he laid the foundations for the construction and reconstruction of canals, maintaining navigable rivers, erecting bridges of various designs across water barriers, including suspension ones, and developed water supply systems for Tsarskoe Selo and Kazan.
According to Betancourt's design, in 1821, the floating "Betancourt" St. Isaac's Bridge across the Neva and the bank abutments along the line "St. Isaac's Cathedral - the building of 12 Colleges" were built, following the model of which other floating bridges were subsequently built across the Neva and its branches.
To conduct affairs for the Corps of Railway Engineers and the Construction Detachment, he established a “Duty” of experienced specialists, and for the operational management of all work on the construction and operation of communications, on May 28, 1820, he formed the Main Headquarters of the Corps. Under the Chief Director of Railways, a Special Office was created (the prototype of the future office of the Ministry of Transport).
Founder of the expert business in Russia
In 1820, Betancourt created the Commission of Projects and Estimates of the Main Directorate of Communications - the first “all-Russian” design organization not only in the field of domestic transport, but also in construction. The Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works founded by him was a unique government agency, who exercised control over all construction projects in the Russian Empire (expert assessment of urban planning plans, architectural solutions, urban improvement plans). Thus, it was ensured that domestic construction reached a new level based on broad engineering and technical expertise of the largest projects.
Brilliant engineer designer
Betancourt also supervised the technical part of the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. Together with the architect Auguste Montferrand, he calculates the designs of St. Isaac's Cathedral. To be more precise, it is he who creates the engineering project.
He designed scaffolding and mechanisms for lifting the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral, used by A.A. Montferrand. On their basis, the latter created a system of mechanisms, with the help of which he installed the Alexander Column on Palace Square in St. Petersburg in 1832.
A. Betancourt is one of the organizers of engineering education in Russia
According to his project, the Institute of the Corps of Railway Engineers was established in St. Petersburg in 1809, where he was appointed inspector general. Until the end of his life, A. Betancourt served as its inspector, head of the economic and educational department, and at the same time gave lectures on engineering.
Betancourt made an important contribution to the development of the domestic system of higher engineering education in the 19th century, which was distinguished by a combination of fundamental, general engineering and special training.
He created the scientific foundations for the education of railway engineers according to a curriculum that combined general scientific, general engineering and special training in one university, which included, along with theoretical training, work in workshops, drawing work that gives design skills, and practice in construction work.
For the first time, the curriculum of a higher technical educational institution included such disciplines as higher mathematics and descriptive geometry. The first textbooks and teaching aids were published in French and Russian (“Foundations of Descriptive Geometry” and “Elementary Foundations of Analytical Geometry” by Sevastyanov, “Differential Calculus” by Bazin, “Foundations of Mechanics” by Destrem, “Course on the Theory of Construction of Machines” by Chizhov, “Higher Geometry” in space" Mayorov et al.)
He created many working tools and models, models of lifting mechanisms - capstans, winches, bridge trusses, building structures used in the educational process.
On his initiative, from the very beginning, the largest Russian and foreign specialists were attracted to teach at the Institute. Augustin Augustinovich contributed in every possible way to the formation of a progressive view on the expansion of the construction of communications as an important factor in the economic development of the country, retained the best graduates at the Institute and trained future professors from them, he immediately set about creating an institute library, classrooms, and a little later - a museum.
Seeing that the number of IIPS graduates (only 150 engineers were trained between 1811 and 1824) was clearly insufficient, Betancourt proposed forming a Construction Detachment, where workers from other industries who had not received a construction education could enroll. On April 17, 1819, the emperor approved this initiative, and the construction organizations of the department of railways began to be replenished with specialists who mastered the matter directly in practice.
At the origins of special secondary technical education
At the same time, Betancourt developed a project for organizing a Military Construction School and a School of Railway Conductors to train civil engineering officers at the level of performing technicians. May 1, 1820 and this proposal was approved. The buildings of the Conductor School were erected according to the design and under the supervision of Betancourt. In 1839, having played its role, it closed and its equipment was transferred to the Institute. Earlier, in 1826, the Institute “absorbed” the Military Construction School: students of its senior class entered the 1st year of the IIPS.
All this laid the foundation for the state system of special secondary technical education in Russia. These schools accepted young men aged 16-19 years. They were released with the rank of ensign and sent to construction work in the Construction Detachment. After 4-6 years of training, 1st class graduates received the rank of senior non-commissioned officer, 2nd class – junior non-commissioned officer. These were qualified executors of new construction projects. By the way, the buildings for the conductor school, workshops with a large steam engine (power 10 hp) and the foundry were erected according to Betancourt's design.
last years of life
In the last years of his life (1822-1824), Betancourt fell out of favor with the emperor and on August 2, 1822 he was removed from the post of Chief Director of Railways. Betancourt resigned, which he received on February 4, 1824, and died five months later at the age of 66. In St. Petersburg, on the University Embankment there is a stele with the name of Augustin Betancourt, and in the park near the main building of the St. Petersburg University of Railways there is a monument to him, which was opened by the Crown Prince of Spain, Felipe, in 2003.
However, the best monuments to this brilliant engineer are the buildings and structures built according to his designs, as well as with his participation.
A truly historical building, erected according to the design of Augustine Betancourt in Moscow, was exerzirgauz(an indoor parade ground for military parades) is now the Manege, opened on November 30, 1817. Its area was almost 7.5 thousand square meters. m, which made it possible to accommodate more than two thousand people. For two centuries now it has gloriously served Muscovites and all residents of the capital.
Boris Skupov
Augustin de Betancourt and Molina, full name Augustin José Pedro del Carmen Domingo de Candelaria de Betancourt y Molina(Spanish) Agustín José Pedro del Carmen Domingo de Candelaria de Betancourt y Molina
; 1st of February ( 17580201
)
- July 14 (26)) - Spanish, then Russian statesman and scientist, lieutenant general of the Russian service, architect, builder, mechanical engineer and organizer of the transport system of the Russian Empire.
Biography
Augustin de Betancourt was born on February 1, 1758 in Spain in the city of Puerto de la Cruz on the island of Tenerife, into a family founded by the French ancestor Jean de Betancourt, who declared himself King of the Canary Islands in 1417.
Having received a comprehensive science education in Paris, Betancourt was sent by the Spanish government to the most cultural countries of Western Europe to observe various shipping systems, canals, steam engines, etc. Betancourt successfully completed this assignment. In 1798, he was entrusted with the construction of an optical telegraph between Madrid and Cadiz and the organization of a corps of railway engineers in Spain. In 1800 he was appointed inspector general of this corps and a member of the financial administration council, and in 1803 - quartermaster of the armies and chief director of posts.
The unrest that arose in Spain forced Betancourt to leave the country. He first went to Paris, and in 1808 to Russia, where he was accepted into service with the rank of major general. Here a wide field was open for him to apply his knowledge; he transformed the Tula Arms Factory, built a cannon foundry in Kazan, introduced new and improved old machines at the Aleksandrovskaya Manufactory, built the building of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers (where he personally invented most of the machines), the Moscow Excergauz, huge at that time (an indoor parade ground for holding military reviews, now Manezh), the guest courtyard of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, the first bridge across the Neva River with the arrangement of the central embankment of St. Petersburg and various other buildings and structures. He took part in the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
According to Betancourt's project, a government agency was established in St. Petersburg, where he was appointed inspector general. The institute was opened on November 1, 1810. Betancourt made an important contribution to the development of the domestic system of higher engineering education in the 19th century, which was distinguished by a combination of fundamental, general engineering and special training. When drawing up the training program at the Institute, he wrote:
“The purpose of the institute is to supply Russia with engineers who, right after leaving it, could be assigned to carry out all sorts of work in the Empire.”
Activities in Nizhny Novgorod
Family
- Wife - Anna Jourdan (d.).
- He had three daughters (Karolina, Adeline and Matilda) and a son, Alfons Avgustovich (-), who rose to the rank of lieutenant general.
Memory
- On July 27, 1995, the Russian Ministry of Railways established a commemorative medal named after Betancourt, which is awarded to specialists for their outstanding personal contribution to the development of transport education.
- A street in Nizhny Novgorod is named after Betancourt, on which the Old Fair Cathedral, built according to his plan, is located.
- In November 2009, in connection with the 200th anniversary of the St. Petersburg State Transport University, the name of A. Betancourt was assigned to the fast branded train No. 25/26 “Smena” on the Moscow-St. Petersburg route.
Awards
- He was awarded a number of the highest Russian orders, up to and including the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky ().
- For samples of banknotes in denominations of 100, 50, 25, 10 and 5 rubles, developed by Betancourt and Khovansky in 1818, Alexander I awarded A. A. Betancourt the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd degree.
Main scientific works
- “On the Expanding Power of Vapors” (Paris, 1790);
- “On a new system of inland navigation” (Paris, 1807);
- “Guide to the Compilation of Machines” (with H. M. Lantz, Paris, 1808, 1st edition; 1819, 2nd edition; 1840, 3rd edition, posthumous).
Betancourt's works
1810: Girl with a jug
Fountain in the Catherine Park of Tsarskoye Selo.
1817: Moscow Manege
1832: Alexander Column
The Alexander Column is a monument erected by the architect Auguste Montferrand by order of Emperor Nicholas I.
Montferrand worked for a relatively long time under the leadership of A. Betancourt. Betancourt designed the scaffolding and mechanisms for lifting the columns of St. Isaac's Cathedral, which were implemented by Montferrand. Based on these scaffoldings and mechanisms, Montferrand created a system of mechanisms, with the help of which he installed the Alexander Column on Palace Square in 1832. The ascent took place on August 30, 1832. To bring the giant monolith into a vertical state, it was necessary to attract the forces of 2,000 soldiers and 400 workers, who installed the monolith in place in 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Write a review of the article "Betancourt, Augustin Augustinovich"
Notes
Literature
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
- // Russian biographical dictionary: in 25 volumes. - St. Petersburg. -M., 1896-1918.
- Saint Petersburg. 300 + 300 biographies. Biographical Dictionary / St. Petersburg. 300 + 300 biographies. Biographical Glossary // Comp. G. Gopienko. - In Russian. and English language - M.: Markgraf, 2004. - 320 p. - Tyr. 5000 copies - ISBN 5-85952-032-8. - P. 31.
Links
- (link unavailable since 06/14/2016 (1127 days))
An excerpt characterizing Betancourt, Augustin Augustinovich
But he frowned angrily and at the same time painfully at her and leaned over the child with a glass. “Well, I want it,” he said. - Well, I beg you, give it to him.Princess Marya shrugged her shoulders, but obediently took the glass and, calling the nanny, began to give the medicine. The child screamed and wheezed. Prince Andrei, wincing, holding his head, left the room and sat down on the sofa next door.
The letters were all in his hand. He mechanically opened them and began to read. The old prince, on blue paper, in his large, oblong handwriting, using titles here and there, wrote the following:
“I received very happy news at this moment through a courier, if not a lie. Bennigsen allegedly won complete victory near Eylau over Buonaparte. In St. Petersburg everyone is rejoicing; there is no end to the number of awards sent to the army. Although he is German, congratulations. The Korchevsky commander, a certain Khandrikov, I don’t understand what he’s doing: additional people and provisions have not yet been delivered. Now jump there and tell him that I will take his head off so that everything will be done in a week. I also received a letter from Petinka about the Battle of Preussisch Eylau, he took part - it’s all true. When people do not interfere with someone who should not be interfered with, then the German beat Buonaparti. They say he is running very upset. Look, jump to Korcheva immediately and do it!”
Prince Andrei sighed and opened another envelope. It was a finely written letter from Bilibin on two pieces of paper. He folded it without reading and again read his father’s letter, which ended with the words: “Ride to Korcheva and carry it out!” “No, excuse me, now I won’t go until the child recovers,” he thought and, going up to the door, looked into the nursery. Princess Marya still stood by the crib and quietly rocked the child.
“Yes, what else does he write that is unpleasant? Prince Andrei recalled the contents of his father’s letter. Yes. Ours won a victory over Bonaparte precisely when I was not serving... Yes, yes, everyone is making fun of me... well, that’s good for you...” and he began to read Bilibin’s French letter. He read without understanding half of it, he read only in order to at least for a minute stop thinking about what he had been thinking about exclusively and painfully for too long.
Bilibin was now in the capacity of a diplomatic official at the main headquarters of the army and, although in French, with French jokes and figures of speech, he described the entire campaign with exclusively Russian fearlessness in the face of self-condemnation and self-mockery. Bilibin wrote that his diplomatic discretion [modesty] tormented him, and that he was happy to have a faithful correspondent in Prince Andrei, to whom he could pour out all the bile that had accumulated in him at the sight of what was happening in the army. This letter was old, even before the Battle of Eylau.
"Depuis nos grands succes d"Austerlitz vous savez, mon cher Prince, wrote Bilibin, que je ne quitte plus les quartiers generaux. Decidement j"ai pris le gout de la guerre, et bien m"en a pris. Ce que j" ai vu ces trois mois, est incroyable.
“Je commence ab ovo. L'ennemi du genre humain, comme vous savez, s'attaque aux Prussiens. Les Prussiens sont nos fideles allies, qui ne nous ont trompes que trois fois depuis trois ans. Nous prenons fait et cause pour eux. Mais il se trouve que l "ennemi du genre humain ne fait nulle attention a nos beaux discours, et avec sa maniere impolie et sauvage se jette sur les Prussiens sans leur donner le temps de finir la parade commencee, en deux tours de main les rosse a plate couture et va s"installer au palais de Potsdam.
“J"ai le plus vif desir, ecrit le Roi de Prusse a Bonaparte, que V. M. soit accueillie et traitee dans mon palais d"une maniere, qui lui soit agreable et c"est avec empres sement, que j"ai pris a cet effet toutes les mesures que les circonstances me permettaient. Puisse je avoir reussi! Les generaux Prussiens se piquent de politesse envers les Francais et mettent bas les armes aux premieres sommations.
“Le chef de la garienison de Glogau avec dix mille hommes, demande au Roi de Prusse, ce qu"il doit faire s"il est somme de se rendre?... Tout cela est positif.
“Bref, esperant en imposer seulement par notre attitude militaire, il se trouve que nous voila en guerre pour tout de bon, et ce qui plus est, en guerre sur nos frontieres avec et pour le Roi de Prusse. Tout est au grand complet, il ne nous manque qu"une petite chose, c"est le general en chef. Comme il s"est trouve que les succes d"Austerlitz aurant pu etre plus decisifs si le general en chef eut ete moins jeune, on fait la revue des octogenaires et entre Prosorofsky et Kamensky, on donne la preference au derienier. Le general nous arrive en kibik a la maniere Souvoroff, et est accueilli avec des acclamations de joie et de triomphe.
“Le 4 arrive le premier courier de Petersbourg. On apporte les malles dans le cabinet du Mariechal, qui aime a faire tout par lui meme. On m"appelle pour aider a faire le triage des lettres et prendre celles qui nous sont destinees. Le Marieechal nous regarde faire et attend les paquets qui lui sont adresses. Nous cherchons - il n"y en a point. Le Marieechal deviant impatient, se met lui meme a la besogne et trouve des lettres de l"Empereur pour le comte T., pour le prince V. et autres. Alors le voila qui se met dans une de ses coleres bleues. Il jette feu et flamme contre tout le monde, s"empare des lettres, les decachete et lit cells de l"Empereur adressees a d"autres. Oh, that's what they do to me! I have no trust! Oh, they told me to keep an eye on me, that’s good; get out! Et il ecrit le fameux ordre du jour au general Benigsen
“I’m wounded, I can’t ride a horse, and therefore I can’t command an army. You brought your army, broken, to Pultusk: here it is open, and without firewood, and without fodder, therefore it is necessary to help, and since yesterday we ourselves treated Count Buxhoeveden, we must think about a retreat to our border, which we must do today .
“From all my trips, ecrit il a l "Empereur, I received an abrasion from the saddle, which, in addition to my previous transportation, completely prevents me from riding and commanding such a vast army, and therefore I transferred the command of it to my senior general, Count Buxhoeveden, sending it to to him all duty and everything belonging to it, advising them, if there was no bread, to retreat closer to the interior of Prussia, because there was only enough bread left for one day, and other regiments had nothing, as the division commanders Osterman and Sedmoretsky announced, and All the peasants have been eaten; I myself, until I recover, remain in the hospital in Ostroleka. About the number of which I most dutifully present information, reporting that if the army stays in the current bivouac for another fifteen days, then in the spring there will not be a single healthy one left.
“Dismiss the old man to the village, who remains so disgraced that he could not fulfill the great and glorious lot to which he was chosen. I will await your most merciful permission here at the hospital, so as not to play the role of a clerk and not a commander in the army. Excommunicating me from the army will not make the slightest disclosure that the blind man has left the army. There are thousands of people like me in Russia.”
“Le Marieechal se fache contre l"Empereur et nous punit tous; n"est ce pas que with"est logique!
“Voila le premier acte. Aux suivants l"interet et le ridicule montent comme de raison. Apres le depart du Marieechal il se trouve que nous sommes en vue de l"ennemi, et qu"il faut livrer bataille. Boukshevden est general en chef par droit d"anciennete, mais le general Benigsen n"est pas de cet avis; d"autant plus qu"il est lui, avec son corps en vue de l"ennemi, et qu"il veut profiter de l"occasion d"une bataille „aus eigener Hand “ comme disent les Allemands. Il la donne. C"est la bataille de Poultousk qui est sensee etre une grande victoire, mais qui a mon avis ne l"est pas du tout. Nous autres pekins avons, comme vous savez, une tres vilaine habitude de decider du gain ou de la perte d"une bataille. Celui qui s"est retire apres la bataille, l"a perdu, voila ce que nous disons, et a ce titre nous avons perdu la bataille de Poultousk. Bref, nous nous retirons apres la bataille, mais nous envoyons un courrier a Petersbourg, qui porte les nouvelles d"une victoire, et le general ne cede pas le commandement en chef a Boukshevden, esperant recevoir de Petersbourg en reconnaissance de sa victoire le titre de general en chef. Pendant cet interregne, nous commencons un plan de man?uvres excessivement interessant et original. Notre but ne consiste pas, comme il devrait l"etre, a eviter ou a attaquer l"ennemi; mais uniquement a eviter le general Boukshevden, qui par droit d"ancnnete serait notre chef. Nous poursuivons ce but avec tant d"energie, que meme en passant une riviere qui n"est ras gueable, nous brulons les ponts pour nous separer de notre ennemi, qui pour le moment, n"est pas Bonaparte, mais Boukshevden. Le general Boukshevden a manque etre attaque et pris par des forces ennemies superieures a cause d"une de nos belles man?uvres qui nous sauvait de lui. Boukshevden nous poursuit – nous filons. A peine passe t il de notre cote de la riviere, que nous repassons de l "autre. A la fin notre ennemi Boukshevden nous attrappe et s" attaque a nous. Les deux generaux se fachent. Il y a meme une provocation en duel de la part de Boukshevden et une attaque d "epilepsie de la part de Benigsen. Mais au moment critique le courrier, qui porte la nouvelle de notre victoire de Poultousk, nous apporte de Petersbourg notre nomination de general en chef, et le premier ennemi Boukshevden est enfonce: nous pouvons penser au second, a Bonaparte. Mais ne voila t il pas qu"a ce moment se leve devant nous un troisieme ennemi, c"est le Orthodox qui demande a grands cris du pain , de la viande, des souchary, du foin, – que sais je! Les magasins sont vides, les chemins impraticables. Le Orthodox se met a la Marieaude, et d"une maniere dont la derieniere campagne ne peut vous donner la moindre idee. La moitie des regiments forme des troupes libres, qui parcourent la contree en mettant tout a feu et a sang. Les habitants sont ruines de fond en comble, les hopitaux regorgent de malades, et la disette est partout. Deux fois le quartier general a ete attaque par des troupes de Marieaudeurs et le general en chef a ete oblige lui meme de demander un bataillon pour les chasser. Dans une de ces attaques on m"a importe ma malle vide et ma robe de chambre. L"Empereur veut donner le droit a tous les chefs de divisions de fusiller les Marieaudeurs, mais je crains fort que cela n"oblige une moitie de l"armee de fusiller l"autre.