13 Facts About Stephen Timoshenko

Stephen Timoshenko is considered to be the father of modern engineering mechanics.

Stephen Timoshenko was born in the village of Shpotovka, Uyezd of Konotop in the Chernigov Governorate which at that time was a territory of the Russian Empire.

Stephen Timoshenko studied at a Realschule in Romny, Poltava Governorate from 1889 to 1896.

Stephen Timoshenko continued his education towards a university degree at the St Petersburg State Transport University.

Stephen Timoshenko was elected dean of the Division of Structural Engineering in 1909.

Stephen Timoshenko went to St Petersburg where he worked as a lecturer and then a Professor in the Electrotechnical Institute and the St Petersburg Institute of the Railways.

In 1920, during the brief liberation of Kyiv from Bolsheviks, Stephen Timoshenko traveled to the city, reunited with his family and returned with his family to Zagreb.

Stephen Timoshenko is remembered for delivering lectures in Russian while using as many words in Croatian as he could; the students were able to understand him well.

In 1922, Stephen Timoshenko moved to the United States where he worked for the Westinghouse Electric Corporation from 1923 to 1927, after which he became a faculty professor in the University of Michigan where he created the first bachelor's and doctoral programs in engineering mechanics.

Stephen Timoshenko was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1939 and the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1940.

In 1957, ASME established a medal named after Stephen Timoshenko; he became its first recipient.

The Stephen Timoshenko Medal is given annually for distinguished contributions in applied mechanics.

Stephen Timoshenko died in 1972 and his ashes are buried in Alta Mesa Memorial Park, Palo Alto, California.