Dmitry Dmitriyevich Maksutov was born in 1896 in either Nikolayev[1] or the port city of Odesa, Russian Empire.

His great-grandfather, Peter Ivanovich Maksutov, was given the title of prince, thereby raising the family to hereditary nobility as a reward for bravery in combat.

Dmitri became interested in astronomy in early childhood, and constructed his first telescope (a 7.2 inch / 180 mm reflector) when he was twelve years old.

While there he published Анаберрационные отражающие поверхности и системы и новые способы их испытания [Aberration-free reflective surfaces and systems and new methods of testing them] (1932), in which he analyzed aplanatic double mirror systems and introduced the compensating method, which he proposed as early as 1924.

Like the Schmidt telescope, the Maksutov corrects for spherical aberration by placing a corrector lens in front of the primary mirror.

He published the design in 1944 in a paper entitled "Новые катадиоптрические менисковые системы" [New catadioptric meniscus systems].