Born Mar. 15 (28), 1914, in St. Petersburg; died Apr. 12, 1973, in Moscow. Soviet chemist and metallurgist. Corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1970). Member of the CPSU from 1944.
From 1934 to 1936, Sakharov worked at the Institute of the Rare-Metals Industry (Giredmet). Upon graduating from the M. V. Lomonosov Moscow Institute of Fine Chemical Technology (MITKhT), he served in the Soviet Army. He returned to Giredmet in 1953 and became director of the institute in 1963. In 1963 he also became a professor at MITKhT. From 1966 to 1973, Sakharov served as vice-president of the FIDE International Commission on Alternative Chess Compositions.
Sakharov’s principal works dealt with semiconductor materials and metals of high purity. He was awarded the Lenin Prize (1964), six orders, and various medals.