The article describes the life and activities of the formidable scientist, engineer, statesman, Academician Mykola Pavlovych Petrov (1836-1920). He was widely known as a reformer of the railway transport and at the same time, as one of the core founders of the technical education in Russian Empire.

Solid knowledge and experience gained abroad in mechanics were successfully used by M. P. Petrov in his further practical scientific activities. He played a considerable role in solving the vast variety of railway issues. Among those should be mentioned the following ones: achieving the concessions for railway building, taking part in the formation process of the democratic joint stock railway partnerships, countless researches dedicated to the lowering of spendings for the railway in general and rolling stock in particular. Due to M. P. Petrov all the foreign experience which that he was able to gather used for the railway in a practical way that made the work of the railway engineers easier and more efficient.

The track record of Academician M. P. Petrov is just amazing. Various activities on railways show us that M. P. Petrov had indisputable authority among the scientists, engineers and statesmen of his time, in particular in the Railway Ministry. All the tasks that performed M. P. Petrov were closely connected to the hardest and most important issues of the railways and building mechanic.

The article also describes the most important researches which were carried out by M. P. Petrov. First of all, his hydrodynamic lubrication theory should be mentioned. He was the first scientist in the world that implemented the totally new concept of friction between the solid materials with usage of the lubricating fluids. He evaluated the characteristics of the lubricating fluids depending on the pressure and temperature and their influence on the friction process. One more important research conducted by M. P. Petrov was his work on the question about the braking systems for the locomotives. It helped the engineers all over the world to have the understanding how the ideal braking system should look like and work.

In addition to the statesman work and performing the engineering tasks on the railway, M. P. Petrov was also a Professor of the Engineer Academy and Technological Institute and could be considered as one of the founders of the technical education, combining not only the theoretical knowledge, but also the practical experience. M. P. Petrov started a lot of new courses, wrote huge amount of books and manuals.

In addition, the article provides information about the awards of N. P. Petrov, as well as detailed description about his career

1. Burhvyts A.H. (1984). Trudy N.P. Petrova i gidrodinamicheskaya teoriya smazki. Trenie i iznos. [Works of N.P. Petrov and hydrodynamic theory of lubrication. Friction and wear and tear]. Vol. 5, №3, 531-537 [in Russian].
2. Zenzinov N.A., Ryzhak S.A. (1978). Prizvanie i priznanie (ob N.P. Petrove). [Recognition and calling (about N.P. Petrov)]. Vydayushhiesya inzhenery i uchenye zheleznodorozhnogo transporta [Formidable engineers and scientists of the railway transport]. Moskva: Transport [in Russian].
3. Akhmatov A.S. (1965). Nikolaj Pavlovich Petrov. Lyudi russkoj nauki: Tekhnika [People of the Russian science: Technics]. Moskva: Nauka, 240-246. [in Russian].
4. Petrov S.N. (1925). Nikolaj Pavlovich Petrov. Ocherk zhizni i idej. [Nikolaj Pavlovich Petrov. Essay of the life and ideas]. Leningrad: Russkoe tekhnicheskoe obshhestvo. [in Russian].
5. Tretyakov A. (1948). Vydayushhijsya russkij uchenyj N.P. Petrov. [Formidable Russian scientist N.P. Petrov]. Zheleznodorozhnyj transport – Railway transport, 8, 76-81. [in Russian].
6. Yanin V.A. (2018). L.S. Lebedyanskyi: uchast u stvorenni vantazhnogo parovozu serii FD. [L.S. Lebedyanskyi: participation in the creation of the freight steam FD locomotive]. Istoriia nauky i tekhniky – History of Science and Technology, 1(12), 107-116 https://doi.org/10.32703/2415-7422-2018-8-1(12) [in Ukrainian].
7. Kirichek A.V., Titenok A.V., Titenok I.A., Shurubkin M.M., Obydenkova T.A., & Morozova A.V. (2017). Zhizn vo imya nauki. [Life in the name of science]. Vestnik BGTU – BGTU magazine, 4(57). https://doi.org/10.12737/article_5a02f9fa0a1919.81281864 [in Russian].
8. Savin L.A. (2017). Zhizn uchenogo kak primer sluzheniya nauke I otechestvu. [Life of the scientist as an example of serving to the science and homeland]. Vestnik BGTU – BGTU magazine. 3(56). https://doi.org/10.12737/article_59b11cb766a462.80157100 [in Russian].
9. Petrov N.P. (1870). Ochertanie zubchaty`kh krugly`kh czilindricheskikh koles dugami kruga. [Outline of the toothed cylindrical wheels by the arcs of the circle]. Inzhenernyj zhurnal – Engineer magazine. [in Russian].
10. Petrov N.P. (1883). Trenie v mashinakh i vliyanie na nego smazy`vayushhikh masel. [Friction in machines and influence of the lubricating oils on it]. Inzhenernyj zhurnal – Engineer magazine, 1, 71-140. [in Russian].
11. Petrov N.P. (1888). Opisanie pribora dlya opredeleniya vnutrennego treniya zhidkostej i instrukcziya dlya upotrebleniya i soderzhaniya pribora v ispravnosti. [Description of the instrument for the definition of the inner fluid friction and the manual for usage and maintenance of the instrument]. Inzhenernyj zhurnal – Engineer magazine. [in Russian].
12. Petrov N.P. (1912). K voprosu o prochnosti relsov. [About the question of rails` strength]. Izdanie Vysochajshe uchrezhdennoj Osoboj vysshej komissii dlya vsestoronnego issledovaniya zheleznodorozhnogo dela v Rossii, 87. [in Russian].
13. Petrov N.P. (1915). Davlenie koles na relsy. Prochnost relsov I ustojchivost puti. [Wheel pressure on the rails. Strength of the rails and sustainability of the rails]. [in Russian].