The article is dedicatedtothe 135th anniversary of Rudolf Eduardovich David, an outstanding Russian scientist, academician ofthe Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences, who was at the origins of the organization and development of meteorology and agrometeorology in the Lower Volga region. The main stages of the biography and some little-known aspects of the professional activity of R. E. David are discussed. The biographical study used archival materials and memoirs of employees of Saratov State University.