Modest Andreevich Korf (1800-1876) graduated from the course at the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, served in the Ministry of Justice and the Law Drafting Commission. In 1861, Baron Korf was appointed head of the second department of His Imperial Majesty's Chancellery, and in 1864 - chairman of the Department of Laws of the Council of State. After the accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander II (December 1856), M. A. Korf and the commission created under his chairmanship were entrusted with collecting materials for a complete biography and history of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, which were subsequently transferred to the Imperial Russian Historical Society.