On August 18, 1815, Alexander Middendorf, Sibreved, the founder of permafrost, was born. Personal business Alexander Fedorovich Middendorf (1815-1894) was born in St. Petersburg in the family of Russian Baltic Germans. His father was the director of the gymnasium, then for 17 years-the main pedagogical institute, from which St. Petersburg University subsequently grew up. Even while studying at the gymnasium, Alexander was carried away by the study of nature and travel.