Facts from the biography of Miklouho-Maclay:

1846, July 17, born in the village of Yazykovo-Rozhdestvenskoye.
1857, admission to St. Anna's school in St. Petersburg.
1858, transfer to the Second Petersburg Gymnasium.
1863, expulsion from the gymnasium and admission as a volunteer to St. Petersburg University
1864, expulsion from the university. Departure for Germany. Admission to the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Heidelberg.
1865, admission to Faculty of Medicine University of Leipzig.
1866, move to Jena. Studying at the University of Jena at the Faculty of Medicine.
1866-1868, travel to the Canary Islands and Morocco.
1869, trip to the shores of the Red Sea. Return to Russia.
1870-1871, voyage to New Guinea on the corvette Vityaz.
September 20, 1871 – December 22, 1872, stay in the northeastern part of New Guinea, on the coast of Astrolabe Bay.
1872 – 1873, departure on the clipper “Emerald” from the Maclay Coast. Stay in Batavia and Beitenzorg (Bogor).
1873 – 1874, second trip to New Guinea. Double visit to the coast of Papua Koviai (southwestern part of the island).
1874 – 1875, two trips to the Malacca Peninsula. Raising the question of necessity

Russian patronage of the Papuans of the Maclay Coast due to the threat of annexation of New Guinea by England.

1876 - 1877, travel to Western Micronesia and Northern Melanesia. Second visit to the Maclay Coast.
1878 – 1882, life in Australia. Organization of a zoological station in Sydney.
1879, trip to the islands of Melanesia. Letter to Gordon, High Commissioner for Western Oceania, regarding the slave trade.
1880 – 1881, two voyages along the southern coast of New Guinea.
1882 – 1883, trip from Australia to Russia. Visit to Germany, France, England.
1883, third stay on the Maclay Coast.
February 1884, married Marguerite Robertson; November 18 – birth of son Alexander Nils.
1884 - 1886, life in Sydney.
January 09, 1885, telegram to Chancellor Bismarck protesting on behalf of the Papuans against the seizure of New Guinea by Germany. December 29 – birth of son Vladimir Allen.
1886, trip to Russia. Promotion of a project for organizing a Russian colony in New Guinea.
1887, trip to Australia and moving with his family to St. Petersburg. Disease.
April 14, 1888, death.

Interesting facts about Miklouho-Maclay:

During his high school years, Maclay read and discussed the forbidden works of Herzen with his friends. And for participating in a student demonstration, the 15-year-old future scientist was arrested in October 1861 and spent three days in prison in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
During his internship at the university hospital (in Jena), Maclay was assigned to monitor a sick young girl. Romantic feelings arose between the young doctor and the patient, but soon his beloved’s condition worsened and she could not be saved. Before her death, she asked Maclay to take her skull as a souvenir. The young scientist complied with her request and made a fancy lamp from the skull. Maclay had this lamp with him for two decades (almost until his death) and used it on expeditions and while living in Australia.
Maclay in 1868 tried to join two polar expeditions as a participant, as the harsh romance of the Arctic completely took possession of his consciousness. If he had not been refused both times, then perhaps he would have been known to us as a polar explorer.
During an expedition to the Red Sea in 1869, which coincided with the great Hajj, Maclay, for safety reasons, decided to disguise himself as an Arab, for which he shaved his head bald, smeared his face with brown paint, dressed in Arab clothes, learned several Arabic expressions and for appearance performed Islamic rituals. Such an absurd conspiracy almost cost the scientist his life.
The belief of the Papuans of Astrolabe Bay in Maclay's ability to “set the sea on fire” arose after the traveler set fire to alcohol poured into a saucer, passing it off as water.
When the plan to organize a Russian settler colony on the Maclay Coast failed, Nikolai Nikolaevich made a proposal to establish a Russian settlement in a certain island group not occupied by other powers. He called it "Group M". Historians have long debated which island group the scientist had in mind. Most likely, we were talking about the Micronesian Makin Atoll (atolls mainly consist of groups of coral islets), located in the northern part of the Kiribati archipelago.
The iron knives and axes donated by Maclay to the Papuans of Astrolabe Bay were distributed not only along the coast and adjacent foothills and islets, but also through high mountain ranges along multi-stage trade routes to the Goroka Valley in the Eastern Highlands. Together with them, mythological ideas about Makarai, a light-skinned heavenly spirit who created these amazing tools, also penetrated there.

Material prepared by Igor Cheninov, Foundation named after. Miklouho-Maclay

Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay

“You are the first... to prove that man is man everywhere” - these words were addressed by L. N. Tolstoy to the still very young scientist Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay. The biography of this famous traveler is so interesting that it can be read in one sitting. It was not for nothing that he was often invited to the royal court to tell the imperial family about his life among the aborigines of New Guinea.

Miklouho-Maclay: biography

On April 14, 1844 in Moscow in the Resurrection Church on Sretenka N. I. Miklukha married Ekaterina Semyonovna Becker, daughter of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Colonel Becker, who then served as an official of the Moscow Order of Public Charity.

The groom was 25 years old, the bride was eight years younger than him. The newlyweds went to the place of service - the village of Yazykovo, Borovichi district Novgorod province. Here the couple rented a room on the Rozhdestvenskoye estate, owned by the landowner N. N. Evstifeev. On July 2, 1845, the couple had their first child, Sergei (died in 1895). On July 17, 1846, a second son was born, named Nikolai. He was baptized in the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in Shegrina Gora; successor - Major General A. N. Ridiger, came from a family that in the future will give Russia a patriarch.

On August 10, 1846, Nikolai Ilyich Miklukha was appointed assistant to the head of the experienced railway track; In the fall, the Miklukh family moved to St. Petersburg to a government apartment. On March 18, 1848, N. Miklukha was appointed head Nikolaevsky railway station and the first 12 miles of the road to Kolpino.

By that time, the family had expanded - on May 11, 1849, daughter Olga was born (died in 1880). In August 1849, the head of the family was appointed head of the experimental route between Vyshny Volochok and Tver, its length was 112 miles. However, in October 1850, N. Miklukha displeased the head of the Southern Directorate of the Nikolaev Road and was removed from business, awaiting a new appointment for more than a year. Nevertheless, in December he was awarded the Order of St. Anna 3rd degree.

Finally, on October 9, 1851, engineer-captain Miklukha, without promotion, was appointed head of the VI department of the Nikolaev railway, stretching from Spirovskaya station to Klin. The family lived in Tver. On May 31, 1853, another son was born - Vladimir. In the period 1853-1855, N. Miklukha received several commendations and a medal “For excellent and diligent service” for the uninterrupted transportation of troops during the Crimean War. However, on his 39th birthday, October 24, 1855, he was removed from his position. Presumably, this was done at his own request due to his sharply deteriorating health: tuberculosis developed.

At the end of 1855, the Miklukh family moved to St. Petersburg, to an apartment near the Tauride Garden. Here, on April 12, 1856, the last son, Mikhail, was born, who later became a collector and custodian. family archive. The head of the family was in charge of the Aleksandrovsky Mechanical Plant at Nikolaevskaya railway. In December 1856, he was appointed head of the construction of the Vyborg Highway, which finally undermined his health. On December 20, 1857, N. I. Miklukha died at the age of 41.

Since family savings were invested in stocks, and the widow made a living by drawing geographical maps, she managed to give her children a decent education by inviting teachers to her home. She even hired an art teacher for them, who discovered Nikolai’s artistic abilities.

Brothers and sisters

Older brother Sergei Miklukha(1845-1895) - lawyer, in -1894 he was a local magistrate (3rd precinct,

Sister Olga Miklukha(1849-1881) - artistic painting on porcelain.

Studying at the gymnasium

Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay, whose biography is complete most interesting events, in 1858, together with his older brother Sergei, he was admitted to the 3rd grade of the Annenschule school. However, soon the boys begged their mother to transfer them to a state gymnasium. To do this, the widow filed a petition to enroll her sons in the nobility in accordance with the rank of her late husband, which gave such a right.

In In second St. Petersburg gymnasium Nikolai Miklukha studied very poorly and often played truant. As a result, he was transferred to 5th grade with great difficulty.

At the age of 15, during a student demonstration, Nikolai was arrested and, along with other high school students and his brother Sergei, was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. However, after a few days the teenagers were released, as the investigative commission considered that they had been detained by mistake.

Studying at the University

In the summer of 1863, Nikolai left the gymnasium. He expressed a desire to enter the Academy of Arts, but his mother was able to dissuade him.

In September 1863, the young man enrolled at Moscow University as a volunteer student in the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, which was possible even without a document confirming completion of a gymnasium course. There he diligently studied the natural sciences, including physiology.

During a university meeting held in 1864, Nikolai tried to bring his classmate from the gymnasium, Sufshchinsky, into the building. They were detained by the administration, and the young man was banned from attending classes.

After it became clear that Nikolai would not be able to receive higher education in Russia, the mother agreed to send the young man to study abroad, to Germany. After much ordeal, the young man managed to obtain a foreign passport and travel abroad in April 1864.

Life in Germany

Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay, after entering the University of Heidelberg, was involved in political disputes between the Russian students there, associated with different views on the Polish uprising. His mother tried in every possible way to persuade her son to stay away from politics and become a good engineer. Contrary to her wishes, the young man, along with lectures on mathematics, began to attend classes in social disciplines.

In the summer of 1865, Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay transferred to Leipzig University.

There he entered the faculty, which trained managers in the field of agriculture and forestry. After attending 4 courses there, he went to Jena and entered the Faculty of Medicine, where he studied for 3 years.

Expedition to the Canary Islands

The acquaintance took place, and Huxley turned out to be especially kind. Only on November 15, the expedition members sailed to Madeira: Haeckel intended to conduct an initial acquaintance with the pelagic and littoral fauna of the Atlantic there, and then go to the Canaries. It turned out, however, that communication with the islands was interrupted due to cholera. The travelers were rescued by Russian frigate "Niobe", who was on a training voyage; its commander was the nephew of a professor of botany at the University of Jena.

After staying in Funchal for only two days, the travelers were taken to Santa Cruz on the island. Tenerife November 22.

On December 9, the team landed in the harbor of Arrecife on the island. Lanzarote, and because of the storm, the voyage lasted 4 days instead of 30 hours.

A flurry of activity unfolded in the harbor: jellyfish, crustaceans and radiolarians that lived in the surface layer of water were collected with nets, and the net was used to obtain samples of benthic fauna. Student von Miklouho studied sea sponges and as a result discovered the new kind calcareous sponge, calling it Guancha blanca in honor of the indigenous inhabitants of the islands. Samples of the studied fish were most often purchased from fishermen at the market; as a result, N. Miklukha collected data on the swim bladders of fish and the brain of sharks.

Local residents were wary of German zoologists, considering them either Prussian spies or sorcerers. The latter rumor led to Haeckel being regularly approached with requests for healing and prediction of the future. The team's rented house was infested with insects and rats; Haeckel estimated that he killed more than 6,000 fleas in January 1867 alone. It was decided to wind down work and return to Europe, but this could only be done through Morocco. On March 2, Haeckel and Gref reached Morocco on an English steamer, then spent two weeks in Algeciras, studying marine fauna. They took the train to Paris, where they visited the World's Fair, after which they returned to Jena.

Miklouha and Fol decided to travel around the Sultanate of Morocco: having bought Arabic costumes and hired a guide-translator, they reached Marrakesh with a caravan, where Nikolai was especially interested in the life and life of the Berbers. Next, the travelers went to Andalusia. Arriving in Madrid, Nikolai wished to live in a gypsy camp, but did not provide details. Haeckel noted on one of Miklukha’s letters that he became very ill in Madrid. Nicholas returned to Jena via Paris at the beginning of May 1867.

Scientific activity

In Jena, N. N. Miklouho-Maclay again became Haeckel's assistant.

A year later, the young man graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jena and began to actively engage in scientific work. In one of his articles, he hypothesized that evolution is differentiation, that is, a transition from the original form of a living organism to other forms, but not necessarily higher ones.

Expedition to Italy and the Red Sea

After failing numerous attempts to become a member of the polar expedition, Miklouho-Maclay went to Sicily with Darwinian zoologist Anton Dorn.

In Italy, the future famous traveler learned about the completion of construction Suez Canal and decided to study the fauna of the Red Sea.

After visiting Egypt, where he carried out extensive research work, the scientist went to Russia, where he arrived in the summer of 1869.

Preparations for the first expedition to New Guinea

Having met with relatives who at that time lived in Saratov, Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay went to the capital and spoke at several scientific conferences. Soon he was accepted into the ranks of the Russian Geographical Society and the project he presented for an expedition to the Pacific Ocean was approved.

21 May 1870 Minister of the Navy Nikolai Karlovich Krabbe reported that the Highest permission had been received to deliver Miklouho-Maclay to Batavia on corvette "Vityaz".

Life on the islands Pacific Ocean

On October 29, “Vityaz” visited great Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov, who had a long conversation with Miklouho-Maclay.

It was decided that a year after the landing, a Russian warship would visit New Guinea; in the event that the researcher was not alive, it was supposed to take away the manuscripts packed in hermetic cylinders. On the day of sailing - November 8, 1870 - 24-year-old Miklouho-Maclay sent letters to Prince Meshchersky and his mother.

The Vityaz sailed on November 8, 1870. In Brazil, Miklouho-Maclay visited a local hospital for some time and examined representatives of the Negroid race of both sexes.

On July 21, Vityaz arrived in Tahiti. On the island of Miklouho-Maclay he purchased red calico, needles, knives, soap and received gifts from Bishop Jossan.

Then the traveler visited Apia, where he hired two servants: a sailor from Sweden, Olsen, and a young aborigine named Boy. Two months later, the scientist and his assistants reached the final destination of their journey. Miklouho-Maclay landed on shore with his assistants and visited the village.

19 September 1871, at about 10 o'clock in the morning, the high bank of N opened New Guinea near Cape King William, and the next day, at four o’clock in the afternoon, the corvette “Vityaz” dropped anchor not far from the shore, in Astrolabe Bay.

I went ashore with two servants, and in one of the villages lying near the shore, from which most of the inhabitants fled when we arrived, I met the first Papuans. With great fear they offered me various gifts: coconuts, bananas and pigs.

Since the corvette was in a hurry to Japan and it was impossible to visit several places on the eastern coast of New Guinea to choose from, I decided to stay here. The next day I chose a place for the hut, and the corvette carpenters began to build it. The next four days were spent building the hut, clearing the forest around it and transporting things.

The commander and officers of the corvette helped me with great kindness and even supplied me with various things and supplies that I lacked, for which I bring them all my sincere gratitude. On the morning of September 27, the corvette left.

All the local residents took to their heels, except for the Papuan named Tui, who in the future became an intermediary between members of the expedition and the aborigines.

In the first months, the natives were wary of the newcomers, but in 1872 Miklouho-Maclay was accepted by them as a friend.

The explorer named the explored territories after himself. This is how it appeared on the world map Coast of Miklouho-Maclay.

Second trip to New Guinea

After some time, he arrived in Hong Kong, where he learned about the fame of a Papuan explorer that had fallen on him. After traveling around Batavia, Miklouho-Maclay set off on a second expedition to the Papuans and landed on Ambon on January 2, 1874. There he began to fight slave traders.

In May 1875, the scientist wrote a letter to Emperor Alexander II with a request to take the aborigines of New Guinea under his protection, to which he received a negative response.

After spending 17 months on the islands, Miklouho-Maclay went to Australia.

There Miklouho-Maclay managed to interest local authorities project for organizing a biological station in Watsons Bay.

Because the required amount failed to collect, the scientist again went to the South Seas.

In Melanesia

At the beginning of 1880, a traveler landed on Louisiades archipelago, however, he contracted a fever there and was miraculously saved by missionaries who took him to Brisbane.

A year later, Miklouho-Maclay returned to Sydney and headed Marine biological station.

At the same time, he protected the population of New Guinea as best he could. In particular, his intervention saved an Aboriginal village from massacre, near which three missionaries were killed.

Return to Russia and trip to Europe

In Sydney, Miklouho met a widow Margaret-Emma Robertson-Clark- the daughter of an important colonial official, with whom he began an affair.

However, he had to leave the young woman and return to Russia, where he arrived in January 1882. There he was eagerly awaited, and his lectures were a huge success. In addition, the traveler was introduced to Alexander the Third, who settled his financial problems.

Deteriorating health forced Miklouho-Maclay to go to Europe for treatment. During the trip, he received a letter from Margaret Clark, in which she agreed to marry the scientist. However, instead of going to his beloved, the scientist visited New Guinea for the third time. Disappointment awaited him there, since many of his Papuan friends died. Miklouho-Maclay planted garden crops in Bongu - mango, breadfruit, orange, lemon and coffee beans. However, despite the requests of the Papuans, he left them, promising to return.

Marriage

On June 10, 1883, Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay returned to Sydney and began to resolve the problems associated with the marriage between him and the Protestant Clarke. On February 27, 1884, they got married, and in November their first child was born - son Alexander.

Return to Russia and death

After receiving the order to vacate the building of the biological station, Miklouho-Maclay decided to return to his homeland and arrived in Odessa in mid-spring 1886. In Russia, the scientist tried to implement a project for organizing a resettlement colony on the Maclay Coast, but his plans were not destined to come true.

In 1887 health famous traveler deteriorated sharply. Despite this, he managed to bring his family to Russia. However, the disease (as it later turned out to be cancer) progressed, and 20 hours 15 minutes April 2 (14), 1888 Miklouho-Maclay died

Funeral

IN last way The traveler was accompanied by many prominent scientists of that time and members of the Russian Geographical Society. Miklouho-Maclay was buried at the Volkovskoye cemetery next to his father and sister Olga.

Now you know who Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay was. short biography this person even in his very compressed form takes up many pages, as he lived a life incredibly rich in adventure.

Miklouho-Maclay Nikolai Nikolaevich (born July 5 (17), 1846 - death April 2 (14, 1888) - Russian ethnographer, anthropologist and traveler, an outstanding scientist who studied the indigenous populations of Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania . The famous Maclay Coast, a section of the northeastern coast of New Guinea, bears his name.

Now probably no one knows the true length of his routes. After all, besides the famous 15 months of life on the Maclay Coast, there were many other journeys full of dangerous adventures. Precious materials were collected, which would be enough for a good dozen travelers.

Origin

The future traveler was born on July 17, 1846 in the village of Rozhdestvenskaya near the city of Borovichi, Novgorod province. The family included people from Germany, Poland, and Scotland. His father, Nikolai Miklukha, was a nobleman, but first of all he was proud of his grandfather Stepan, the cornet of one of the Little Russian Cossack regiments, who distinguished himself during the capture of Ochakov in 1772. He was a railway engineer with the rank of captain and the first head of the Nikolaevsky station in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, the death of his father greatly affected financial situation families. Nikolai was 11 years old at that time. A widow with 5 children experienced serious financial difficulties, but was able to give her children a good education.

early years. Youth. Education

Kolya was sent to the German “School of St. Anna” in St. Petersburg, but then transferred to the Second St. Petersburg Gymnasium. But in the sixth grade the boy was expelled for poor academic performance and violation of discipline. This, however, could not prevent the future scientist from enrolling as a volunteer student at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University in 1863. Nikolai was also soon expelled from there, despite the not entirely intelligible wording - “...repeatedly violated the rules established for these persons while in the university building” (that is, auditors). The young man was expelled with a “wolf ticket,” that is, without the right to study at other universities in Russia. To continue education, it was necessary to go abroad.

1864 - the young man entered the philosophy department of one of the best European universities in Heidelberg. But soon the student became disillusioned with philosophy and took up medicine. After some time he moved to Jena.

At that time, there were heated debates among natural scientists about different theories. Some argued that all the peoples of the world descended from a single ancestor, others defended the opposite point of view. Among them, many believed that “colored” peoples were closer to animals than Europeans. Undoubtedly, Nikolai could not help but be interested in these problems, but what happened in his life an important event, which temporarily pushed these interests aside.

Expedition to Madeira and the Canary Islands

The famous naturalist and staunch supporter of Darwin's ideas, Ernst Haeckel, taught at the University of Jena. The new student soon attracted the attention of the professor, and in 1866 he invited him to take part in a trip to Madeira and the Canary Islands as his assistant. After this, having gained a taste for field work, Miklouho-Maclay headed to Morocco and walked around this unsafe country for Europeans, then visited Sicily, Spain and France.

Expedition to the Red Sea

At this time, under the influence of Haeckel, he studied marine fauna. He continued the same activity in 1869 on the Red Sea. To avoid clashes with Muslims, the young scientist followed the example of many European travelers, that is, he learned Arabic and transformed into an Arab: he shaved his head, painted his face and put on Arab clothes. In this form, with a microscope in his hands, he wandered along the shores and coral reefs in search of marine life that interested him. But the unbearable heat, hunger and illness weakened his health, and he had to return to his homeland.

Ernst Haeckel (left) with assistant Miklouho-Maclay (1866)

Homecoming

In Russia, the young scientist, on the recommendation of Haeckel, began to work under the guidance of one of the patriarchs of Russian science, academician Karl Baer. In addition to marine fauna, the famous scientist was very interested in the problems of human origins. It was he who convinced his young assistant of the need to study primitive peoples for ethnographic and anthropological purposes. Nikolai dreamed of moving from the tropics gradually, over the course of 8-9 years, to the north, to the Okhotsk and Bering Seas. With this idea, he, having enlisted the support of prominent scientific travelers, began to besiege the Russian Geographical Society, primarily its head, the famous navigator Fyodor Litke.

But by that time in the Russian government, and even in the Geographical Society itself, interest in scientific research in the Pacific Ocean was significantly lost. And yet, Miklouho-Maclay was still able to obtain permission to be taken on a Russian military ship heading to the area of interest to him. In Astrolabe Bay on New Guinea, where no one has set foot white man, he, accompanied by two servants, had to land on the shore and remain there among the Papuans, who were reputed and in fact were cannibals. The Geographical Society allocated an insignificant amount of 1,350 rubles for the needs of the expedition.

First expedition to New Guinea

1870, October 27 - the military corvette "Vityaz" left Kronstadt. His route passed through the Strait of Magellan, so the traveler was able to conduct some research on Easter Island, Tahiti and Samoa. Nikolai Nikolaevich reached the main goal of his journey on September 19, 1871. Both the captain of the corvette Nazimov and the seasoned sailors of the Vityaz believed that it was necessary to land only accompanied by an armed detachment. But Miklouho-Maclay refused. Together with two servants, Ohlson and Boy, he went to the shore.

The uninvited guests were greeted with hostility by the Papuans. They were shot at, however, with the intention of scaring them, not killing them. Spears were waved in front of their faces. But Maclay’s amazing restraint and contempt for Maclay’s death, as well as his always even and friendly behavior, helped overcome mistrust. The famous episode can eloquently testify to this: Miklouho-Maclay was able to force himself to fall asleep in the presence of the natives threatening him with weapons. Soon the Papuans were delighted with their guest. They became his friends, often came to visit and brought gifts.

People even came from other islands to see Tamo-rus (Russian man). The natives allowed the traveler to measure himself and cut off the hair from his head (though in exchange for strands of Maclay’s own hair). He was able to move freely around the island, made beautiful sketches, and photographed a section of the coast from Cape Croisile to Cape King William. With the help of the owners of the island, Tamo-rus collected unique collections, including human skulls, which are extremely necessary for anthropological research.

The scientist not only studied the Papuans - he shared their joys and sorrows, treated them, and talked about distant countries. The traveler was able to stop internecine wars on the island during his stay. The natives paid him with affection, and once even organized a brideshow for him, being wary that the neighbors from Bili-Bili and Bongu would lure the guest of honor to themselves. I barely managed to escape the fate of being the husband of three Papuans at once. Nikolai Nikolaevich said that women make a lot of noise, but he loves silence. This was understandable, and the natives fell behind.

1) Miklouho-Maclay with the Papuan Akhmat (1874-75)
2) Miklouho-Maclay in Queensland (1880)

"Man from the Moon"

Nevertheless, the Papuans were not at all harmless. Not only the personal qualities of the scientist and his kind attitude towards the natives played a role in their love of peace. At first, the New Guineans apparently considered the traveler kaaram-tamo (Man from the Moon), immortal, so they did not touch him, but only scared him. We must pay tribute to the scientist - he did not delude himself about the owners of the island. When Boy was dying from inflammation of the peritoneum, Mikloukha-Maclay did not hide that the natives were very interested in whether his servant would die or not. If he dies, then the aliens will turn out to be not gods at all, but simple people.

It is difficult to say what would have happened if Boy had died in front of the Papuans. Perhaps they would want to verify the scientist’s immortality experimentally. But this happened at night; Maclay chose not to take risks and lowered the servant’s body into the ocean so as not to provoke the natives into aggressive actions. He knew very well about the cannibalism of his dangerous friends and had direct evidence of this. One day, along with breadfruit, they brought him pieces of human meat as a gift. Guests from the neighboring island of Vityaz made it clear to their favorite Tamorus that they would never eat him - there were plenty of others.

But gradually all fears faded into the background, but it became increasingly difficult for Maclay to do work. Ohlson was a bad helper, he was often sick and lazy. The researcher also suffered from a severe fever, chronic diseases worsened - catarrh of the stomach and intestines, and ulcers appeared on the legs. In addition, the food from Vityaz had come to an end, and there was very little protein food on the island. The traveler, unaccustomed to this, began to weaken, but continued to explore even the reactions of his body to local conditions.

On the clipper "Emerald"

Meanwhile, a message was published in German newspapers that Miklouho-Maclay had died. The Russian government sent the clipper Emerald to find out his fate. 1872, December 19 - he entered Astrolabe Bay. Having learned that their compatriot was alive, the sailors loudly shouted “Hurray!”, terribly frightening the natives. However, there was no collision.

At first, the scientist, despite his terrible physical condition, flatly refused to leave without finishing his work. He was convinced that Geographical Society would not give money for a new expedition, and asked only to leave him food. But the captain of the Emerald persuaded the explorer to rest in the Dutch colonial possessions in East India. He knew for sure that a scientific expedition would soon arrive in these places and could take him with them. Touchingly saying goodbye to the Papuans and promising that he would return, Tamo-Rus, to the roar of long New Guinea drums, safely departed on board the ship.

In the Philippines, in Singapore, on the island. Java

But the next meeting with the Papuans did not happen as soon as the scientist expected. Along the way, he came to the conclusion about the need for a comparative study of the Papuans, Melanesians and Philippine Negritos. For this purpose, Miklouho-Maclay visited the Philippines, stayed in Singapore, on the island. Java, where he lived at the residence of the Governor General in Beitenzorg. In the city, whose name translated means “carefree,” the traveler was able to rest, receive medical treatment, and sort out the materials of the first expedition.

Second trip to New Guinea

1873 - he again went on a long journey, first to about. Amboin in the South Moluccas archipelago, and then to the coast of Papua Covia New Guinea. There, near Cape Quince, the scientist built a hut in which he settled. Now his escort numbered 16 people.

One day, a scientist went far inland to explore the area near Lake Kamaka Wallar. There he discovered a previously unknown tribe of Papuans, the Waau-Sirau. Meanwhile, a terrible tragedy unfolded on the shore. The local Papuans were attacked by natives from Kiruru Bay. The Papuans from Kiruru won, and at the same time plundered Maclay's hut and killed his people, including several women and a child, with particular cruelty. One of the unfortunate people was cut into pieces right there on the table, probably so as not to waste time cutting up the meat later. In addition, the sources near the hut turned out to be poisoned.

As it turned out later, the Papuans were looking for Maclay to kill. They were incited to this by their long-time ill-wisher Tama-Rusa, the head of one of the nearby villages named Susi. A few days later, a large detachment repeated the attack, but the scientist and the surviving members of his group were able to manage to move to the island. Aidum.

Soon Susi and a detachment appeared on the island. Maclay, apparently distinguished by desperate courage, upon learning of this, calmly finished his coffee, took a pistol and, accompanied by only two people, went to the pirogue in which the robbers had arrived. Susi was nowhere to be seen. The thatched roof made it impossible to see into the depths of the boat. Then Maclay pulled off the roof, grabbed the huge Papuan by the throat and put a pistol to his head. Susi's companions did not dare to intervene even when their commander was tied up. He was later handed over to the Dutch authorities. Maclay and his companions were no longer disturbed.

Having finished his work, the scientist returned to Amboin, where he became seriously ill with fever. In Europe, nothing was known about him for a long time. The English government ordered the captain of one of its warships to urgently search. He completed the task, but found the researcher in such a state that he did not doubt his near death. But the fortitude of Tamo-rus was again able to defeat death. He again continued his research on the Malay Peninsula, where in the upper reaches of the river. Pahan found the remains of the dying Orang Sekai (Semang) tribe, but due to bouts of fever he was forced to go to Singapore.

Travel map of Miklouho-Maclay

Return to Astrolabe Bay

Having barely recovered from his illness, Miklouho-Maclay visited Fr. Yap (Carolina Islands), Admiralty Islands, and then fulfilled his promise and returned to Astrolabe Bay.

Here Tamo-Ruso was greeted with delight. The celebration of communication with old acquaintances continued for several days. The old hut was destroyed by earthquakes and ants, but the sailors from the ship and the natives built a new one. Maclay himself planted palm trees around it and planted a new vegetable garden. Scientific work continued. In 17 months, the scientist was able to study 150 Papuans, collect unique information about Papuan dances, everyday pantomimes, and holidays.

It was clear that the natives fell deeply in love with their unusual friend. However, the question of the immortality of the Man in the Moon still tormented them. One day, one of the natives, whose life a traveler had once saved, directly asked if he could die. The scientist did not want to lie to his friend and found Solomon's solution. He took the spear and handed it to the native so that he could find out the question that interested him. The calculation was correct: he could not raise his hand against Tamo-Rus.

The days and months flew by quickly. In addition to the researcher’s fever, neuralgia was also added. Therefore, when a British schooner accidentally approached the shore, he decided to leave New Guinea. Promising to return, he warned his friends that evil white people could come here and kill and take people into slavery.

Third trip to the Maclay Coast

In 1881 and 1883 Maclay visited the islands of New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Santa Cruz, and the Admiralty and again collected a significant amount of material on anthropology, ethnography, zoology and geography. 1883 - he visited the Maclay Coast for the third - and last - time, but lived there only for eight days. Here sad changes awaited him. Traders of “black goods” visited the shore. Many friends were killed or died. Leaving the Papuans with an ox, a cow, a goat and a goat, seeds of corn and other plants, Maclay again went to Sydney. Doctors had long warned that the tropics had a detrimental effect on his health, while Australia’s climate, on the contrary, was favorable.

Sydney. Marriage

Sydney was well known to the scientist. There, with his direct participation, a zoological station was created. In this, he was actively supported by the Prime Minister of the Australian state of New South Wales, Sir John Robertson. His daughter, 22-year-old Margaret, soon became the most dear person to Maclay. The young woman reciprocated his feelings. Despite the serious obstacles that arose due to differences in religion, the lovers still united. Maclay obtained the king's permission to consecrate the marriage according to the Protestant rite. And the Orthodox ceremony was performed three years later in Vienna, on the way to Russia.

Death

The couple lived together for only 4 years. 1887 - they arrived in St. Petersburg with two young sons. The traveler did not have time to finish processing the expedition materials. Only part of his colossal work was published in German and Russian magazines. His attempts to protect the natives from violence from European countries also ended in failure. 1888 - Germany declared New Guinea its possession. Miklouho-Maclay managed to protest, but on April 14 of the same year he died in St. Petersburg. He was only 41 years old.

Memory

Margaret and the children returned to Sydney. She donated everything from her husband’s heritage that was of the slightest scientific value to the museums of St. Petersburg and Sydney. For the remaining 48 years of her life, she honored the memory of Nikolai Nikolaevich and raised her children and grandchildren with a sense of reverent memory of their father and grandfather. Their descendants now live in Australia and carefully preserve the memory of their amazing ancestor.

The result of a titanic research work Miklouho-Maclay Nikolai Nikolaevich provided strong evidence that the “savage” peoples of New Guinea, Malaya, Australia, Oceania, and therefore other non-European territories, are completely equal to the so-called “civilized” peoples of the planet. He studied biological and physiological properties the brains of dark-skinned people, the structure of their skulls, and on this basis, boldly, contrary to the assertions of many fans of white racial superiority (and even then not all whites), declared: there are no racial differences in the functioning of the brain among the peoples of the Earth.

Date of birth: July 17, 1846.
Date of death: April 14, 1888.
Place of birth: s. Christmas of the Russian Empire

Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklukha, better known by his last name Miklukho Maclay– Russian researcher who worked at the intersection of anthropology, ethnography and biology.

Nikolai saw the light in a small village in the Novgorod province. His father was an engineer, his mother, Ekaterina Semyonovna, was the daughter of Colonel Becker, who distinguished himself in the War of 1812. In the village of Rozhdestvenskoye, Nikolai’s father, Nikolai Ilyich, began his engineering career. In 1855, he and his family were transferred to St. Petersburg. The family did not live well, but there was always money for the education of the children. Thus, Nikolai mastered German as a child and French languages, began to draw well.

Three years later, Nikolai and his brother Sergei continued their studies at the state gymnasium. Their father had died of tuberculosis by that time and private school education had become unavailable.

Nikolai studied poorly and had difficulty moving to 5th grade. No special talents were discovered during the training.
Soon, high school students found themselves behind bars for participating in a student demonstration related to the abolition of serfdom. The imprisonment did not last long, but remained in the memory of the young people.

Studying continued to be difficult for Nikolai. Missing classes, poor grades, suffering from a serious illness with absences from classes - the result was repeated studies in the 6th grade.

In 1863, Nikolai left the gymnasium and began attending classes at the university. Here a 17-year-old boy discovers that he is good at natural Sciences and enjoys doing it. And again, participation in a student meeting becomes a reason for expulsion from the university.
Nikolai continues his studies in Germany, since foreigners there were not required to present a certificate.

In Heidelberg, the student also did not stay away from politics, but continued to study how exact sciences, and natural. This was followed by Jena, where Nikolai became particularly impressed by the ideas of Darwinism. In Jena, Nikolai studied medicine and was Haeckel's assistant, which gave him enormous practical experience.

This experience was very useful when traveling with an expedition to the Canary Islands. Cholera, which was raging in Europe at that time, almost derailed the trip and the plans of the scientists. Fortunately, a training ship was able to take them to Tenerife.

Finally started research activities- and then Miklukha discovers several completely new species of microscopic aquatic inhabitants. Local residents did not understand the interest of scientists and considered them involved in magic. The expedition ended its work and the scientists returned to Jena in 1867.

Of course, the trip enriched Nikolai with experience and upon arrival he begins to write articles and makes an educational trip to different countries Northern Europe. A year later, graduation from university follows and continuation scientific activity. Lack of money did not allow Nikolai to go on expeditions, but soon luck smiled on him, and he ended up in the house of the German biologist Dorn, who helped the young scientist with a laboratory for studying marine life.

Having saved up money, in 1869 Nikolai set off to study the fauna of the Red Sea, which had been practically undescribed until that time.
The work was difficult - heat, attacks of malaria, inflammation of the eyes from dust storms. This did not stop the scientist from collecting a collection of sponges and delivering it to Russia.

In Russia, the scientist managed to convince the scientific community of the need to study lands in equatorial latitudes. The Russian fleet did not plan its stay in the South Seas. The scientist managed to find and interest patrons of the arts. The ship "Vityaz" specially changed its route so that the scientist could begin his activities. The journey began to New Guinea, where he spent 2 years. During this time, he got to know the natives, studying their life and rituals.

Then came Hong Kong, Indonesia and again New Guinea.
A trip to Sydney and Melanesia soon followed, where the scientist’s fame and ideas gained international proportions.

From Sydney, with an opportunity that turned up, Nikolai returned to his homeland, St. Petersburg. There he held many conferences and lectures. The scientist's health was undermined and worsened day by day, so he decided to go to Europe for treatment. He learned there that his beloved, Margaret, was ready to become his wife. Since she was in Australia, the scientist immediately found a way to go there. Their marriage took place in 1884. The couple had two children.

Due to hostilities involving Britain and Germany that flared up in the New Guinea region, it was decided to return to Russia. In Russia, health deteriorated catastrophically. Minor pain in the jaw soon required pain relief with narcotic analgesics. Soon an infection set in, and even the eminent doctors of that time were powerless.

Achievements of Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay:

Wrote a lot scientific works in biology and anthropology
He described the life and customs of many peoples of Southeast Asia. Refuted the opinion that some peoples are a transitional link from monkey to Homo Sapiens.
Described several new species of marine fauna

Facts from the biography of Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay:

1846, July 17 born in Rozhdestvenskoye
1855 moved to St. Petersburg
1863 decided to stop studying at the gymnasium
1865 began studies in Jena
1869 expedition to the Red Sea
1871 began reveling on the “Maclay Coast”
1878 stay in Australia
1884 marriage to Margaret Robertson
1888 April 14 died after a serious illness

Interesting facts of Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay:

Residents of New Guinea believed that Nicholas arrived in their settlement from the Moon.
During his travels he suffered many tropical diseases; malaria accompanied the scientist all his life.
Posted by scientific work based on his experience of smoking opium.
The eastern coast of Guinea is named after the scientist.
He considered himself the owner of an “ethnographic reserve” and dreamed of becoming the ruler of the Papuan Union.