Count Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov (Russian: Александр Сергеевич Строганов; 3 January 1733 – 27 September 1811) was a Russian aristocrat and a member of the Stroganov family. He was an assistant to the Minister of the Interior, a longtime President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, director of the Russian Imperial Library and a member of the Russian Academy.
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Early life
Stroganov was born on 3 January 1733 in Saint Petersburg, a son of baron Sergey Grigoryevich Stroganov (1707–1756), who played a significant role during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. During 1752–1757 he studied at the universities of Geneva, Bologna (art treasures), and Paris (chemistry, physics, and metallurgy). In Paris he was a Freemason and visited Voltaire.
Career
After the death of his father in 1756, he completed the decoration of the Stroganov Palace in 1760. In 1780, he became a Senator. In 1783 he became a member of the Russian Academy, and one of the editors of the Academic Dictionary.
Stroganov was a member of the commission on elaborating the new code of laws during the reign of Catherine the Great (1762–1796). From 1800 until his death he was a president of the Imperial Academy of Arts and director of the Imperial Public Library (1800–1811). He was the second director of the library (after Choiseul-Gouffier). He was also a member of the State Council.