Grigoriy Ivanovich Fischer
Pavel Grigoriyevich Demidoff, the owner of his private Cabinet of natural history, delivered it to the University in 1804. He deposited beforehand 100.000 rbs in the Treasury in order to support financially the Museum and to pay salary to the Head of the University Department of Natural history who had to be, at the same time, Director of the Demidoff's Cabinet. A German zoologist, Prof. Gotthelf Fischer known later on as Grigoriy Ivanovich Fischer von Waldheim, was invited to take the both positions. The Moscow University Cabinet became his favorite occupation for all his life long.

Unfortunately, nearly all of these invaluable collections appeared to perish in the Moscow Fire of 1812, only part of conhyological stuffs being saved by Fischer himself. Soon after that, Fischer started to renew the Cabinet with delivering his own collections and books to the University. He also got many naturalists and collection owners to take part in revival of the Cabinet. The Moscow Society of Naturalists established due to Fischer's initiative played especially significant role in that. Another representative of the Demidoff's family, Nikolay Nikitich, is to be mentioned especially in this respect, as he gifted to the University his collection including 2.970 items of minerals and zoological objects of various forms of preparation.