Samuil Shatunovsky

Who was Samuil Shatunovsky?

Samuil Shatunovsky was a Russian mathematician. He was born in Velyka Znamianka, Ukraine in a poor Jewish family as the 9th child. He completed secondary education in Kherson, Ukraine; then studied for a year in Rostov, Russia and moved to Saint Petersburg seeking university degree. There he studied in several technical universities. Engineering however did not attract Shatunovsky and he dedicated himself to mathematics, voluntarily attending lectures by Chebyshev. Shatunovsky could not complete any university program due to lack of funds. He later attempted to obtain a university degree in Switzerland, but failed for the same reason. After returning from Switzerland, he lived in small Russian towns, earning by private lessons. In the meantime, he wrote his first mathematical papers and sent some of them to Odessa University. Their quality was acknowledged; Shatunovsky was admitted to the university, received financial support, obtained a degree and was appointed as staff member in 1905. In 1917, he became a professor and continued working at the Odessa University through the rest of his life.