Nikolai Koksharov (1818–1893) was born into the family of a mining engineer. In 1822, his father was appointed head of the Berezovsk gold mine in the Middle Urals, and his family moved there. In 1840, he graduated with distinction from the Mining Institute in St Petersburg, at that time a part of Russia’s military system.

In 1840, an expedition was organized and financed by the Russian Government to examine the major geological features of the European part of Russia and the Urals. The British geologist Roderick Murchison headed the expedition and the young officer and mineralogist Koksharov was ordered to accompany the famous visitor. He become familiar with Murchison’s field methods and improved his own knowledge of geology. The expedition lasted ten weeks.

Nikolai’s first geological article, ‘Geognostical (geological) notes on several regions of European Russia’, was published in 1840 in Gorny Zhurnal (Mining Magazine). There, he demonstrated his own views, which were in some respects at odds with those of Murchison on the geology of the northwestern part of European Russia. Koksharov wrote that the layers of clay (later classified as Permian) lie on the Mountain Limestone (now Carboniferous).

In 1841, Koksharov was required to join a further expedition with Murchison and de Verneuil and accompany them from St Petersburg to Perm and beyond. The expedition proceeded from Orenburg, close to the border with Kazakhstan, to the southern areas of the Russian Empire. However, Murchison asked Koksharov to return to Orenburg to clarify some details of the local geology there. Koksharov did so, but failed to get the necessary authorization from the army, and this cost him his decoration for his work with the Murchison expeditions. In 1890, Koksharov wrote about this episode in his Reminiscences (1890).

In his Journal, Murchison described Koshkarov as young, enthusiastic and likeable. In his report, Murchison wrote: “Koksharov’s support contributed to the success of the expedition and our efforts”. Subsequently, he became a distinguished mineralogist and author of the multi-volume Data on the Mineralogy of Russia.