Mikhail Vasilyevich Ostrogradsky (24.09.1801-1.01.1862) was a Russian mathematician and mechanician, a member of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1830). He was born in Pashenny (now Pashenovka, Poltava Oblast). He studied at the University of Kharkov (1816 — 20) and continued his studies in Paris (1822-27). From 1828 he was professor at higher educational institutions in St Petersburg. His main work was in mathematical analysis, mathematical physics and theoretical mechanics. He solved a number of important problems in hydrodynamics, the theory of heat, elasticity, ballistics and electrostatics, in particular the problem of the propagation of waves on the surface of a liquid (1826). He obtained the differential equation of the propagation of heat in solids and liquids. In 1828 he proved the theorem on the transformation of integrals. He is known for the Gauss — Ostrogradsky theorem in electrostatics. He extended the principle of virtual displacements and the variational principles of mechanics, in particular formulating (1850) a general variational principle for non-conservative systems. Ostrogradsky's work was also devoted to number theory, algebra and probability theory.
A member of a number of foreign academies of sciences.