The book is dedicated to the life, scientific, scientific-organizational and government activities of an outstanding mathematician, famous geographer, leader of large polar expeditions, geophysicist, astronomer, historian of science, major statesman and public figure, Hero of the Soviet Union, academician of the USSR Academies of Sciences and Ukrainian SSR. The author, based on a study of the published works of O.Yu. Schmidt and his extensive archive" presented in the book a living portrait of a tireless scientist and organizer of science and Soviet book publishing, a popularizer of scientific knowledge and a teacher. For a wide range of readers interested in the development of science.