Dmitry Vasilyevich Grigorovich (1822, 1899) was a renowned prose writer and translator. He was born on March 19 in Simbirsk to a family of modest landowners. Losing his father early, he was raised by his mother, who was French and spoke only French, so he learned Russian from the household staff. He received his education in private German and French boarding schools in Moscow.

In 1836, Grigorovich entered the St. Petersburg Main Engineering School, where he befriended F. Dostoevsky. However, a military career did not attract him, and in 1840 he left the school to enroll in the Academy of Arts, but soon left that as well.

In 1842, he began working at the Directorate of Imperial Theaters and made acquaintances among writers. In 1845, he collaborated with N. Nekrasov in the almanac "Physiology of Petersburg," where he published the essay "Petersburg Street Musicians," noted by Belinsky. In 1847, his novella "Anton Goremyka" was published, bringing him literary fame and approval from readers and critics. This was followed by works such as "Country Roads" (1852) and "Fishermen" (1853), which became significant in the literary life of that time.

However, his subsequent works "The Settlers" (1855) and "The Plowman" (1856) were met with criticism, as expectations from him were different. At that time, there was a struggle between supporters of "pure art" and revolutionary democrats, but Grigorovich tried to remain neutral: "Indeed, articles filled with hatred oppress the soul..." he wrote to Nekrasov.

In 1858 and 1859, he accepted an invitation from the Naval Ministry to embark on a journey aboard a warship, which he described in his travel essays "The Ship 'Retvizan,'" where he discussed architecture and art. Grigorovich was known as an expert in sculpture and painting and a collector.

From 1864, he held the position of secretary of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists, where he worked for about twenty years, leaving literary creativity behind. In 1883, Grigorovich returned to literature with the novella "The Gutta-Percha Boy," which critics called a "little masterpiece." During these years, he also worked as a translator, working on P. Mérimée's novella "The Etruscan Vase."

In the last years of his life, Grigorovich worked on "Literary Memories," creating portraits of figures such as I. Turgenev and L. Tolstoy for future generations. He passed away on December 22, 1899, in St. Petersburg and was buried at the Volkov Cemetery.