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Born
Andrey (Andrei) Andreyevich Markov is born the son of a Forestry Department Worker and Estate Owner. The eldest of his parent's two sons and several daughters. His younger brother was also an accomplished mathematician despite succumbing to tuberculosis at the young age of 25. -
Early Education
Despite having poor health at a young age, and performing very poorly in other subjects Markov displays outstanding talents in mathematics at his grammer school St Petersburg Gymnasium No 5. -
First Major Paper
He wrote his first mathematics paper while at the Gymnasium though his results on integration of linear differential equations that he presented in the paper were not new. However, writing the paper did result in him meeting Aleksandr Korkin and Egor Zolotarev, two of the leading professors at the university. -
Enrollment in the University
It was clear though that mathematics was the right subject for Markov to study at university and in 1874, he entered the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St Petersburg University. -
Graduation From University
Markov graduated in 1878 having won the gold medal for submitting the best essay for the prize topic set by the faculty that year, which was on the Integration of Differential Equations by Means of Continued Fractions. -
Master's Work
Markov's next pursuit was to train to become a university professor and he worked for his Master's degree over the next two years (this was at a level equivalent to a doctorate). He was awarded the degree in 1880 for his thesis on the Binary Quadratic Forms with Positive Determinant, which garnered a lot of respect from the Russian math community at the time, including Chebyshev. -
Marriage
Markov had known Maria Ivanova mValvatyeva since they were children for she was the daughter of the owner of the estate which his father was managing. Markov had tutored Maria Ivanova in mathematics and later he proposed marriage to her. However Maria Ivanova's mother would not allow her daughter to marry the son of her estate manager until Markov had gained sufficient social status. In 1883 Maria Ivanova's mother agreed to the marriage which took place in that year. -
Earning His Doctorate
After submitting his master's thesis, Markov began to teach at St Petersburg University as a private lecturer (associate professor) while working for his doctorate (equivalent to the habilitation). He was awarded his doctorate in 1884 for his dissertation on Certain Applications of Continued Fractions. -
Extraordinary Professor
Markov became an extraordinary professor at St Petersburg University in 1886. -
Adjunct Nomination
Chebyshev proposed Markov as an adjunct of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1886. -
Extraordinary Membership
He was elected as an extraordinary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1890. -
Ordinary Professor
Markov became an ordinary professor at St Petersburg University in 1893. -
Ordinary Academician
He was elected as an ordinary academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1896. -
Retirement
In 1905 he was appointed merited professor and was granted the right to retire, which he did immediately. He did however continue to lecture on the calculus of differences until 1910. -
Markov Chain
In 1906, Andrey Markov produced the first results for what would later become know as Markov chain processes. -
Excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church
In 1912, Markov, protesting Leo Tolstoy's excommunication from the Russian Orthodox Church, requested that he himself be excommunicated. In response, the Church formally excommunicated him. -
Honorary Member of the University
In 1913 the council of St. Petersburg elected Markov as one of nine scientists to become honorary members of the University, but his election was not affirmed by the minister of education. The affirmation only occurred four years later, after a Russian revolution which took place in February, 1917. -
Markov's Last Days
The Russian Revolution began early in 1917 and as food supplies began to run low Markov requested the Academy to send him to a disadvantaged town in the Russian interior. He was sent to a small country town, where he taught mathematics in the secondary school without receiving any remuneration. He returned to St Petersburg but his health was now deteriorating and by 1921 he was in such a bad way that he was hardly able to stand, yet he continued to lecture until his death in July 1922.
