| Nikita Akinfiyevich Demidov | |
| Occupation: | Russian industrialist and arts patron |
| Birth Date: | 7 September 1724 |
Nikita Akinfiyevich Demidov (Russian: Никита Акинфиевич Демидов) (7 September 1724 – 7 May 1789) was a Russian industrialist and arts patron.
He was the younger son of Akinfiy Demidov, brother of Prokofi Demidov and father of Nikolai Demidov.
He was married three times: firstly to Natalia Yakovlevna Evreinova (1732-1756), secondly to Maria Sverchkova (1644–1776) and thirdly to Alexandra Evtikhievna Safonova (1745-1778).[1] His children from the first marriage were:
From the third marriage:
Inheriting mines and metallurgical factories in the Urals and Siberia, he was also a major landowner, with properties in central and southern Russia and in Italy. He left eight metallurgical factories, a huge annual income and 12,000 serfs to his son Nikolai on his death.[3]
He was an amateur scientist, the first member of the Demidov family to protect the arts actively and a major traveller, journeying abroad to see Europe's industrial innovations, manners and culture. In 1786 he published a Journal of his foreign travels,[4] and also corresponded with Voltaire and Diderot. In 1779 he set up a medal to reward a success in mechanics, to be decided by the Russian Academy of Sciences.