Alesander Borodin was a Russian scientist and composer of the Russian Era. His father was a Georgian prince.
Borodin studies included piano, flute and cello and composition. He studied Chemistry at the Medico Surgical Academy and received a doctorate in 1858 where he became a professor of chemistry at the same school.
Borodin considered music a hobby and a relaxation from his work. He only pursued it in his liesure time. He was known for his contributions to organic chemistry and medicine, although today he is remembered for his music. Some of his better know works are his Polovetsian Dances, symphonies, string quartets, the tone poem In the Steppes of Central Asia and his opera Prince Igor.