Nikolay Nikolayevich Beketov (Russian: Николай Николаевич Бекетов; January 13 [O.S.

January 1] 1827, Alferovka (now Beketovka), Penza Governorate, Russian Empire – 13 December [O.S.

In 1865 he defended his PhD thesis on "Research into the phenomenon of displacement of one element by another" ("Russian: Исследования над явлениями вытеснения одних металлов другими").

[2] Beketov discovered displacement of metals from solutions of their salts by hydrogen under pressure.

In 1864 a Physical Chemistry Department in Kharkov University was established with his active participation, where students would conduct research and do practical work.