Pavel Demidov
Encyclopedia
Demidov
The Demidov family, also Demidoff, were an influential Russian merchant, industrialist and later chivalry family, possibly second only to the Tsar himself in wealth during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.-History:...
dynasty.
Life
The eldest son of Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidov and Baroness Elisabeta Alexandrovna StroganovaElisabeta Alexandrovna Stroganova
Baroness Elisabeta Alexandrovna Stroganova was a Russian aristocrat of the Stroganov family....
, he fought as an officer in his father's regiment and received his baptism of fire at the battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
in 1812. After the war he entered the Chevalier Guards regiment
Chevalier Guard
The Chevalier Guard regiment was a Russian heavy cavalry guard regiment, created in 1800 by the reformation of the Chevalier Guard corps, itself created in 1764 by Catherine the Great...
. In 1828 he purchased the Sancy
Sancy
The Sancy, a pale yellow diamond of , was once reputed to have belonged to the Great Moguls of antiquity, but is more likely of Indian origin owing to its cut which is unusual by Western standards....
diamond and he received his discharge in 1831 with the rank of captain, at which point he entered civil service as governor of the province of Kursk. Also in 1831 he founded the Demidov Prize
Demidov Prize
The Demidov Prize was a national scientific prize in the Russian Empire awarded annually to the members of the Russian Academy of Sciences. One of the most prestigious and oldest scientific awards in the world, its traditions influenced other awards of this kind including the Nobel Prize...
(decided by the Russian Academy of Sciences
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of the national academy of Russia and a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation as well as auxiliary scientific and social units like libraries, publishers and hospitals....
).
In 1834 he entered service in the Ministry of the Exterior as court Huntsmaster, later State Councillor. In Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
on 9 January 1836 he married the well-known society beauty and maid-of-honour to Her Majesty the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, Aurora Karamzina (1808–1902) - they had one son, Pavel Pavlovitch Demidov (1839–1885), whose daughter Aurora was mother of Prince Paul of Yugoslavia
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia, also known as Paul Karađorđević , was Regent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during the minority of King Peter II. Peter was the eldest son of his first cousin Alexander I...
.