Nikolai Nikolaevich Semenov was born on April 3 (15), 1896 in Saratov. His father, Nikolai Alexandrovich Semenov, received a personal noble rank due to his service in the army, but soon after his marriage he left his military career and took up the management of the estate. Nikolai's mother, Elena Alexandrovna Dmitrievna, who graduated from Bestuzhev courses, was famous as an intelligent and determined woman. Until the age of fourteen, the family lived in the district of Volsk, where Nikolai studied at a real school. In 1910, the Semenovs moved to Samara, where the future scientist graduated from a secondary school.
Under the influence of physics lessons from teacher V.I. Karmilov, Nikolai developed an interest in natural sciences, especially physics and chemistry. Even then, he began to conduct his own chemical experiments at home, setting up a small laboratory right in his room, from where loud explosions could sometimes be heard. The widely known book "Theory of Chemistry" by Swedish scientist Svante-August Arrhenius inspired the teenager to devote himself to science even more. To achieve this goal, he independently mastered Latin, which was not taught in a real college, but was necessary for admission to higher education. The summer of 1913 was marked by the fact that Nikolai Semenov entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at St. Petersburg University.