Demidov

House of Demidov

Arms of the House of Demidov
Ethnicity	Russian
Place of origin	Tula, Russia
Members	Nikita Demidov Nikolai Nikitich Demidov Anatoly Demidov
Connected families	House of Bonaparte
Distinctions	Prince of San Donato
Heirlooms	Demidov collection
Estate	Villa San Donato

The Demidov family (Russian: Деми́довы), also Demidoff, was an influential Russian merchant, industrialist and noble family, possibly second only to the Tsar himself in wealth during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The family still exists.

Their progenitor, Demid Antufiev, was a free blacksmith from Tula, where their family necropolis is preserved as a museum. His son Nikita Demidov (March 26, 1656 – November 17, 1725) made his fortune by his skill in the manufacture of weapons, and established an iron foundry for the government. Peter the Great, with whom he was a favorite, ennobled him in 1720. For two centuries, the Demidov plants produced a large portion of Russia's iron and steel. The Palace of Westminster was one of many notable buildings constructed of Demidov metal products.

Nikita's son, Akinfiy Demidov (1678–1745), increased his inherited wealth by the discovery and working of gold, silver and copper mines. He also founded the Siberian town of Barnaul, whose central square still bears his name. He also commissioned the Leaning Tower of Nevyansk. His fortune was inherited by his eldest son Prokofi Demidov, whilst his younger son Nikita Akinfievitch Demidov (1724–1789) became an arts patron.

Akinfiy's nephew, Pavel Grigoryevich Demidov (1738–1821), was a great traveller and benefactor of Russian scientific education who befriended Carl Linnaeus and Pallas. He established the Demidov Lyceum in Yaroslavl, the Demidov chair in Natural history at Moscow University, and founded an annual prize for Russian literature, awarded by the Academy of Sciences. A bronze monument to him was installed in Yaroslavl in 1828.