March 20] 1890) was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, an aviation pioneer, and a researcher and designer of heavier-than-air craft.

His father was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, and Mozhaysky graduated from the Sea Cadet Corps in 1841.

Mozhaysky assisted in the construction of the schooner Heda in 1855, which enabled the Russian delegation negotiating the Treaty of Shimoda to return home.

In 1858 Mozhaysky was selected to participate in an expedition to Khiva in Central Asia, and published an account of the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya River.

After his return he was made a lieutenant-commander; however, he resigned his commission in 1863 with the downsizing of the Russian navy following the end (1856) of the Crimean War.

[3][4] Nevertheless, Mozhaysky's aviation achievements, particularly with regard to flight controls and propulsion, were considerable given the limits of the technology available to him,[4] and have only recently received serious attention.