Fyodor Alexandrovich Bredikhin (1831, 1904) was an outstanding Russian astronomer and an academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences since 1890. He was born in Nikolaev, Kherson province, and graduated from Moscow University in 1855. His scientific career was closely linked to Moscow University, where he defended his master's thesis in 1862 and his doctoral thesis in 1865. In 1867, Bredikhin was sent to Italy to study the works of the Society of Italian Spectroscopists. In 1873 and 1876, he served as the dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University and was also the director of the university observatory in 1873 and 1890. He founded the 'Moscow Astrophysical School' and headed the Pulkovo Observatory from 1890 to 1895.

Bredikhin's research covered almost all major areas of astronomy at that time. He conducted observations with high precision using a meridian circle, measured the positions of minor planets with a micrometer on a refractor, and studied the errors of the micrometer screw and personal observer errors. Under his guidance, systematic observations of the Sun's chromosphere began, along with the photography of sunspots and prominences, as well as studies of the surface of the Moon and the planets Mars and Jupiter. In 1875, he was one of the first, after W. Huggins, to study the chemical composition of gaseous nebulae. Bredikhin also contributed to instrumental optics and gravimetry.

The main focus of his research was the study of comets, which began in 1858. He developed Bessel's theory and created the 'mechanical theory of cometary forms,' describing the motion of matter in comets. According to his theory, comet tails consist of particles ejected from the nucleus toward the Sun and then repelled by its forces. Bredikhin determined accelerations for many comet tails and proposed a classification into three types in 1877, adding a fourth, anomalous type in 1884. This classification remains relevant today. Based on his theory, he drew conclusions about the chemical composition of comet tails, which were not confirmed. He was one of the first to study the spectra of comet heads and expanded G. Schiaparelli's theory on meteor showers. The results of these studies were published in 'Studies on the Origin of Cosmic Meteors and the Formation of Their Showers' in 1903.

As the director of the Pulkovo Observatory, Bredikhin significantly contributed to the development of domestic astronomy by opening the observatory to Russian scientists. He also actively participated in public activities, serving as president of the Society of Natural Researchers and a member of various astronomical and geographical societies, including the Royal Astronomical Society of London and the Liverpool Astronomical Society. In 1946, the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR established the F. A. Bredikhin Prize for outstanding achievements in astronomy.