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He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five ", a group dedicated to producing a "uniquely Russian" kind of classical music. A doctor and chemist by profession and training, Borodin made important early contributions to organic chemistry. Although he is presently known better as a composer, he regarded medicine and science as his primary occupations, only practising music and composition in his spare time or when he was ill.

Borodin was a promoter of education in Russia and founded the School of Medicine for Women in Saint Petersburg, where he taught until Borodin was born in Saint Petersburg as an illegitimate son of a year-old Georgian nobleman, Luka Stepanovich Gedevanishvili, and a married year-old Russian woman, Evdokia Konstantinovna Antonova.

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Due to the circumstances of Alexander's birth, the nobleman had him registered as the son of one of his Russian serfs , Porfiry Borodin, hence the composer's Russian last name. As a result of this registration, both Alexander and his nominal Russian father Porfiry were officially serfs of Alexander's biological father Luka. The Georgian father emancipated Alexander from serfdom when he was 7 years old and provided housing and money for him and his mother.

Despite this, Alexander was never publicly recognized by his mother, who was referred to by young Borodin as his "aunt". Despite his status as a commoner, Borodin was well provided for by his Georgian father and grew up in a large four-storey house, which was gifted to Alexander and his "aunt" by the nobleman.

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During he enrolled in the Medical—Surgical Academy in Saint Petersburg, which was later the workplace of Ivan Pavlov , and pursued a career in chemistry. On graduation he spent a year as surgeon in a military hospital, followed by three years of advanced scientific study in western Europe. During , Borodin returned to Saint Petersburg to begin a professorship of chemistry at the Imperial Medical-Surgical Academy [ 8 ] and spent the remainder of his scientific career in research, lecturing and overseeing the education of others.

Eventually, he established medical courses for women in He began taking lessons in composition from Mily Balakirev during He married Ekaterina Protopopova, a pianist, during , with whom he adopted several daughters.