Summary: Gavriil Tikhov was a Belarusian astronomer who is credited with coining the term ‘astrobotany’ in approximately 1945. He was a Soviet pioneer in astrobiology and was appointed head of astrobotany in Almaty (fmr. Alma-ata) during his career. Tikhov gave astrobotany legitimacy by recognizing and defining it as a distinct field.