Hydrograph surveyor, explorer of the Arctic Ocean and the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. 
Born in Oranienbaum into the family of a navigator, his grandfather, Alexei Kozmich Davydov, was vice-admiral, director of the Naval Cadet Corps in 1835-1857. His father died early, and his mother identified a 12-year-old boy in the Naval Cadet Corps, which he graduated in 1901, receiving the title of midshipman and the Nakhimov Prize, as a student who showed a special talent. 
Davydov began service in Port Arthur, survived the entire siege period there. He participated in the production of minefields, on which two Japanese battleships were blown up, fought bravely and skillfully, was awarded two military orders. After the surrender of Port Arthur, together with other patriotic officers, he decided to share the fate of the sailors and voluntarily went into captivity. 
Having passed the war, Davydov hated it. His vocation, he considered the study of the seas and coasts, the creation of good modern maps and locations. 
Returning from captivity to St. Petersburg, in 1906 Davydov entered the hydrographic department of the Maritime Academy, after which he specialized in astronomy and geodesy at the Pulkovo Observatory. Here he conducted his first scientific research: he developed a method for determining longitudes in azimuths of the Moon, a method that made it easier for seafarers to determine their position when sailing in high latitudes. 
Davydov's professional achievements determined his fate. In 1910, he became the commander of the Taimyr icebreaker, which was part of the  hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Ocean 1910–1915. This expedition was attended by many talented officers-hydrographs, whose names entered the history of the development of the Arctic seas: B.A. Vilkitsky, K.K. Neupokoev, N.I. Evgenov, G.L. Brusilov, A.M. Lavrov (Lavrov ’s sister, Vera Modestovna, was Davydov’s wife), A.N. Zhokhov and others. He commanded the ship in three campaigns, performing additional duties as an astronomer, and since 1911 - assistant to the head of the expedition. Hidrographic expedition Arctic Ocean became for Davydov the foundation of his subsequent work, during this period he was formed both as a scientist and as a navigator, and as a person. The practical result of his work on this expedition was the determination of the coordinates of a number of points from Cape Dezhnev to the Kolyma River, the processing of materials for the location of this region, on the basis of which the Materials on the Location from the Bering Strait to the Kolyma were published in 1912. 
In 1913, after the death of A.I. Vilkitsky M.E. Zhdanko, former head of the Pacific Hydrographic Expedition, became the head of the Main Hydrographic Department. Davydov was appointed to his place, which he held until 1919. During this troubled time, under his leadership, a sea survey of the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk was made and an inventory of the coasts of the Bering Sea was started.

 

 

With the establishment of Soviet power in the Far East, Davydov was appointed head of the Directorate for the Safety of Navigation in the Far East. In this position, he contributed a lot to the protection of the USSR’s right to serve certain areas of the Far East in terms of navigation. In 1924-1925 he was the head of the expedition on the icebreaker "Red October" (former "Nadejniy"), sent to Wrangel Island, in connection with the claims of Canada and the United States on this Arctic island. On August 20, 1924, Davydov raised the Soviet flag on Wrangel Island and forcibly loaded the "Canadian colonists" on board. It is noteworthy that among them there was not a single Canadian of the white race: the party of colonists consisted of the American Charles Wells (chief) and thirteen Eskimos. On the way back, on September 25, in the Strait of Long at Cape Schmidt, the icebreaker was hopelessly trapped in ice — however, the storm that had flown in helped him to free himself. Overcoming of heavy ices led to an excessive consumption of fuel. By the time the ship anchored in Providence Bay, the fuel remained for 25 minutes, and there was no fresh water at all. The icebreaker returned to Vladivostok on October 29, 1924.

AN decided to apply for renaming  Wrangel Island in  Davydov Island, but Boris Vladimirovich opposed this. 
In his last voyage, Davydov went to the sick, but the need to solve major problems mobilized the body, and the disease temporarily receded.

Returning from swimming with poor health, Davydov caught a cold in Leningrad during one of his reports on the expedition and died after a long illness.

 

 

He was buried with military honors at the Smolensk Orthodox cemetery. The Supreme Naval Command of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet issued an order dedicated to the deceased. This order was proposed to be read on all ships and parts of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Fleet.

Until recently, it was believed that the grave of Davydov was lost. But on November 8, 2015, Alexey Mikhailovich Davydov called me, none other than the native grandson of Boris Vladimirovich, and said that the place of burial is known. Boris Vladimirovich was buried in the Davydovs family plot on the Mikhailovsky Path near the Xenia Blessed Chapel. Unfortunately, the tombstone is just in a deplorable state. 
Cape in the northeast of the island Bolshevik of the archipelago Severnaya Zemlya. The name was given by the Arctic Ocean hydrographic expedition in 1913. 
Dobrynya Nikitich Island Bay among the Pakhtus Islands of the Nordenskjold Archipelago. Named in 1939 by hydrographic expedition on the hydrographic vessel "Toros". 
Bay on the southern shore of Wrangel Island. The name is given by G.A. Ushakov in 1928.