This article presents outstanding scientists of Russia's first higher technical school – G.V. Plekhanov Leningrad Mining Institute. The authors' attention is drawn to the activities of M.F. Soimonov, A.A. Musin-Pushkin, N.A. Lvov, V.V.Kapnist, A.N.Olenin, D.I. Khvostov, G.R. Derzhavin, I.I. Chemnitzer and other people who studied or worked at the Mining Institute, patronized the first technical university of Russia or simply knew the graduates of the Mining School. In a lively form, the authors tell about outstanding figures of Russian history of the 18th - early 19th century, associated with the Mining Institute, who took part in the scientific and cultural life of Russia at that time.