David Ivanovich Grimm, born on March 22 (April 3) 1823 and died on November 9 (21) 1898, was an outstanding Russian architect and one of the founders of the "Russian style." He served as the chairman of the St. Petersburg Society of Architects in 1888 and 1890 and was an academician of architecture.

Grimm studied medieval architecture of the Caucasus and created designs for religious buildings in cities such as Chersonesus (Sevastopol), Tiflis, Copenhagen, Geneva, Nice, and Bethlehem, where he built a church in honor of Saint Mary. Additionally, he designed various structures in St. Petersburg and its surroundings, as well as in Livadia, Zhytomyr, Voronezh, and Ryazan province.

Born in St. Petersburg, Grimm studied at the German School of St. Peter and the Academy of Arts, where he was awarded silver medals for his achievements in drawing and architecture in 1843 and 1845. Upon graduation, he received a small gold medal for his design of a women's monastery and a large gold medal for his design of a building for a fair.

Grimm studied monuments of church architecture in Georgia and Armenia in the Caucasus, as well as traveled through Asia Minor, European Turkey, Greece, and Western Europe. Upon returning in 1855, he was awarded the title of academician of architecture for his drawings and sketches. From 1860, he was a professor at the Academy of Arts and taught there until 1887. From 1888 to 1892, he served as the vice-rector of architecture at the Academy.

He also taught at the Construction School of the Ministry of Transport and worked as an architect in the water communications department. Grimm was a founding member and elder of the St. Petersburg Society of Architects and was part of the editorial board of the journal "Architect." Since 1892, he was the architect of the Imperial Court and an honorary member of the Academy of Arts.

David Ivanovich Grimm died in St. Petersburg and was buried at the Smolensk Lutheran Cemetery. His son Herman also became a well-known architect. Another son, David, was a prominent lawyer and political figure, while the third son, Erwin, was a professor of general history and rector of a university. His grandson, G. G. Grimm, became a construction engineer and architectural historian.