DEMIDOFF, a Russian family who in Russia occupy a position as capitalists similar to that held by the Rothschilds elsewhere, and who are not more celebrated for their wealth than they are for their beneficenee.—NIKITA D., the founder of the family, was a serf iu the time of Peter the great, but, leaving the place of his birth in order to escape being taken as a recruit, he afterwards became famous as a manufacturer of arms, and before his death, had amassed an immense fortune. In 1099, he estab lished an iron-foundry, under the auspices of Peter the great, in whose favor he had attained a high position, near Neviansk, on the eastern base of the Ural mountains; this being the first iron-foundry ever established in Siberia. He subsequently erected numerous other forges among the solitudes of the Urals, and realized from them very great riches.—Aitntvs D., son of the preceding, employed German workmen to explore the rich mines of gold, silver, and copper, that arc found in the valley of the Irtish, and the upper reaches of the Obi. In 1725, he built, at the foot of the Magnetic mountain, in Siberia, a foundry called Nischneitagilsk, which is still the most important in all Siberia. The Russian government, sensible of the great service done to the coun try by the labors of such a man, conferred upon the enterprising metallurgist the title of counselor of state.—His son, PROCOPE, founded in 1772 a school of commerce at Moscow, intended to furnish a complete education for the sons of Russian tradesmen. This establishment was transferred to St. Petersburg in 1800.—PAtir, D., cousin of Procope, also a man of energy, traveled extensively when young, devoting himself to the cultivation of the natural sciences. He presented to the university of Moscow a valuable museum of natural history, and founded also, in 1803, the Demidoff museum, at Yaros1av1.—NICIIOLAS, count D., nephew of the preceding, b. in 1774, distin guished himself while young as an aide-de-camp in the war against the Turks. Later,
he married the countess Stroganoff, and became a privy councilor and imperial cham berlain. His taste for the fine arts and for the natural sciences led him to travel exten sively; he also caused the workmen whom lie employed in his mines to travel, in order to acquaint themselves with the processes of foreign miners. In 1812, he fought at the head of a regiment which he himself raised and led against the French. His death occurred in 1828. A collection of his works, entitled Opuscules d'Economie Politique a Privie, was published at Paris in 1830. Of his two children, Paul and Anatol, the former died young, leaving the great bulk of his fortune to the latter, who was b. in 1810 or 1S12, and was educated in France. He was always remarkable for his enthusi asm in letters and in the sciences. His principal book, published at Paris in 1839, and of which an English translation appeared at London in 1853, is entitled Travels in South ern Russia and the Crimea, through Ilungau, Wallachia, and Moldavia. D., in 1840, married the princess Idathilde de Montfort, daughter of prince Jerome Bonaparte. After five years, the marriage, by which there bad been no children, was by mutual consent dissolved. D., on the 19th June, 1856, presented the town of Spa with a bust of Peter the great. Russia, as well as other countries, owes the foundation of many valuable charitable institutions to the philanthropy of Demidoff. D. died at Baden, 13th July, 1858.
See BASTION, GORGE.
in fortification, is a work constructed to cover or defend the curtain or wall of a place, and the shoulders of the adjoining bastions. It is composed of two faces, forming a salient angle towards the, open country outside the place. It has two demi-gorges, formed near the counterscarp, and is surrounded by a ditch. See further under LUNETTE, and RAVELLN.