  alexander alexandrovich friedmann (also spelled friedman or fridman, ) (june 17 (old style or new style) by himself, june 16 (4 old style) by j. o'conor in 1888, saint petersburg, russian empire â september 16, 1925, leningrad, ussr) was a russian and soviet physicist and mathematician. he is best known for his pioneering theory that the universe was expanding, governed by a set of equations he developed now known as the friedmann equations. == early life== alexander friedmann was born to the composer and ballet dancer alexander friedmann (who was a son of a baptized jewish cantonist) and the pianist ludmila ignatievna voyachek. friedmann was baptized into the russian orthodox church as an infant, and lived much of his life in saint petersburg. friedmann obtained his degree in st. petersburg state university in 1910, and became a lecturer in saint petersburg mining institute. from his school days, friedmann found an inseparable companion in jacob tamarkin, who at the end of his career was one of brown university's most distinguished mathematicians.pyenson l. book review. physics today [serial online]. september 1994; 47(9):93. available from: masterfile premier, ipswich, ma. accessed october 18, 2012. == world war i == friedmann fought in world war i on behalf of imperial russia, as an army aviator, an instructor and eventually, under the revolutionary regime, as the head of an airplane factory.pyenson l. book review. physics today [serial online]. september 1994;47(9):93. available from: masterfile premier, ipswic
1888_births 1925_deaths 20th-century_mathematicians Cosmologists People_from_Saint_Petersburg Perm_State_University_faculty Relativists Russian_mathematicians Russian_people_of_Jewish_descent Russian_physicists Soviet_mathematicians Soviet_physicists