Peter Simon Pallas was a German and Russian scientist-encyclopedist, naturalist and traveler in the service of Russia. He was born in Berlin into the family of a professor of surgery. He began studying Latin and foreign languages early, and from the age of 13 attended lectures at the University of Berlin. He improved his knowledge in England and the Netherlands. By the age of 25 Pallas had gained European renown as a leading naturalist. In 1767 he was invited to the Russian Academy of Sciences, where he was elected a full member.
He led the Orenburg expeditions, collecting unique materials that characterized the nature and economy of the Russian territories, as well as the culture and languages of their peoples. The results of the expeditions are described in the book «Journey through the Various Provinces of the Russian Empire». In 1777 he was appointed a member of the Topographic Department of the Russian Empire, in 1782 a counselor to the Collegium, and in 1786 historiographer of the Admiralty Collegium. In 1785 Catherine II engaged Pallas to collect and comparatively analyze the languages of the peoples inhabiting America, Asia, Europe and Russia. At the Empress's request the scholar published a comparative dictionary in two parts (1787–1789).
In 1793–1794 Pallas conducted research in southern Russia and in Crimea. From 1796 to 1810 he lived in Simferopol, surveying almost the entire southern coast of Crimea. In 1810 Peter Simon Pallas went to Berlin to prepare illustrations for a work on the fauna of Russia. On 8 (20) September 1811 the scholar died and was buried in Berlin.
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