Early Life
Tupolev was born in the village of Pustomazovo (Russian: Пустомазово), near the city of Kimry, Tver region, Russia.
Tupolev was the sixth of seven children born to his parents. After first being educated at home, he studied at the Gymnasium in Tver and graduated in 1908. He then applied for courses at two Russian universities and was accepted at both: Imperial Moscow Technical School (IMTU Russian: ИМТУ) and the Institute of Railway Engineers. He accepted the place at IMTU.
In 1909, Tupolev began studying aerodynamics under the Russian aviation pioneer N.E. Zhukovski. During this time he built one of the world's first wind tunnels which led to the formation of an aerodynamic laboratory at IMTU.
In 1911, Tupolev was accused of taking part in revolutionary activities, including demonstrations and distribution of subversive literature, and was arrested. He was later released on condition that he return to his family home in Pustomazovo and was only allowed to return to IMTU in 1914. He completed his studies in 1918 and was awarded the degree of Engineer-Mechanic when he presented his thesis on the development of seaplanes.
By 1920 the IMTU had been renamed the Moscow Higher Technical School (MVTU) and Tupolev was teaching a course there on the basics of aerodynamic calculations.
Read more about this topic: Andrei Tupolev
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