Ivan Meschersky, a Russian scientist-mechanic, laid the foundations of mechanics for variable mass systems.

He was born into a low-income family in the Solombala military settlement, where he spent his childhood and youth. His mother had to support a family of three children without the help of her husband, but despite financial difficulties, she managed to provide her son with a good education.

Meschersky studied at the Solombala two-year parish school, the Arkhangelsk county school, and the Arkhangelsk male gymnasium, graduating with a gold medal in 1878. He received his certificate of maturity with the intention of enrolling in St. Petersburg University in the physics and mathematics faculty. During his studies at St. Petersburg University (1878-1882), his outstanding abilities were noticed by the famous Russian mechanic D. K. Bobylev, which influenced Meschersky's further career.

In 1890, he became an associate professor in the mechanics department at St. Petersburg University, where he taught for a quarter of a century. Professor Meschersky taught for a long time at universities in St. Petersburg, including the Institute of Engineers of Railways and the Polytechnic Institute (33 years), and also lectured at the Petersburg Women's Courses (28 years). In 1930, after moving to the newly established Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute, he founded the department of theoretical mechanics there and became its first head.

In 1893, Meschersky was sent abroad to study the teaching of mechanics in Germany, Italy, France, and Switzerland.

In 1897, he defended his dissertation on the topic "Dynamics of a Variable Mass Point." In 1904, in his work "Equation of Motion of a Variable Mass Point in General Case," he developed the theory of motion of a variable mass point for cases of separation or addition of particles, as well as their simultaneous addition or separation. Meschersky effectively created a new branch of mechanics, the methods of which found application in various fields of engineering. His works became the theoretical basis for solving many problems in rocket technology. Together with K. E. Tsiolkovsky, I. V. Meschersky is considered one of the founders of modern rocket dynamics.