Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky was born on February 28, 1863, in St. Petersburg, then the capital of the Russian Empire. His father, Ivan Vasilyevich Vernadsky, worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and came from the Zaporizhian Cossacks, while his mother, Anna Petrovna Vernadskaya, was a noblewoman.

In 1868, the family moved to Kharkiv to escape the harsh climate of Petersburg. Five years later, Vladimir entered the first grade of Kharkiv Gymnasium. In 1876, after returning to St. Petersburg, he began studying at the 1st St. Petersburg Classical Gymnasium, which he graduated from in 1881, ranking eighth in his class.

From 1881 to 1885, Vernadsky studied at the natural sciences department of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University. He participated in expeditions and was a student of V. V. Dokuchaev. Among his teachers were renowned scientists such as D. I. Mendeleev and A. N. Beketov.

In 1885 and 1890, Vernadsky worked as the curator of the Mineralogical Cabinet of the university. In 1888 and 1890, he was sent to Italy, France, and Germany for further study and preparation for a professorship. In 1889, he assisted Dokuchaev in preparing a soil exhibition for the World Exhibition in Paris, for which the 'Department of Russian Soils' received a gold medal.

In 1897, Vernadsky defended his doctoral dissertation at St. Petersburg University. His scientific work had a significant impact on the development of Earth sciences, as well as on the academies of sciences in Russia and Ukraine.

Vernadsky actively engaged in organizing expeditions and creating laboratories for the study of radioactive minerals. He was one of the first to recognize the importance of researching radioactive processes for society. The results of his research were published in the 'Proceedings of the Radium Expedition of the Academy of Sciences.' He believed that constant research stations were necessary for successful work.

In the summer of 1917, Vernadsky was at his estate in the Poltava province when the October Revolution occurred. Acknowledging Ukraine's independence, he left the Cadet Party in May 1918. On October 27, 1918, he became one of the founders and the first president of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. He also taught geochemistry at Kyiv University and was interested in biogeochemistry.

In March 1921, the Vernadsky family returned to Petrograd. Vernadsky headed the Meteorite Department of the Mineralogical Museum, the Radiochemical Laboratory, and KEPS. He organized L. A. Kulik's expedition to the site of the Tunguska meteorite fall.

On July 14, 1921, Vernadsky was arrested on suspicion of espionage but was soon released thanks to the intervention of Karpinsky and Oldenburg, who appealed to Lenin and Lunacharsky.

In January 1922, Vernadsky participated in the establishment of the Radium Institute, which he headed until 1939. The institute united all radiological institutions in Petrograd. The founders of the institute, Vernadsky and Khlopin, laid its comprehensive structure based on a combination of physical, chemical, and radiogeochemical research.

In 1915 and 1930, Vernadsky chaired the Commission for the Study of Natural Productive Forces of Russia and participated in creating the GOELRO plan. The commission made a significant contribution to the geological study of the USSR and the creation of its mineral resource base.

In 1926, he continued independent work and formulated the concept of the biological structure of the ocean. Vernadsky published 473 scientific works, founded biogeochemistry, and made significant contributions to geochemistry. From 1927 until his death, he headed the Biogeochemical Laboratory at the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Among Vernadsky's philosophical legacy, the concept of the noosphere is the most well-known. In the summer of 1940, he initiated research on uranium for nuclear energy. During the war, he was evacuated to Kazakhstan, where he wrote books on geological phenomena and the chemical structure of the biosphere.

In 1943, Vernadsky was awarded the Stalin Prize of the 1st degree for outstanding scientific work. At the end of 1943, he returned to Moscow, but on December 25, 1944, he suffered a stroke. Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky passed away on January 6, 1945, in Moscow and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.