The paper shows life path of the remarkable Russian historian, Honored Researcher of the Russian Federation, Doctor of Sciences, Professor Dmitry Gavrilov. The paper notes that the researcher, who overcame almost 94 years of selfless research and pedagogical activity, had exceptional worldly and professional wisdom, which allowed him to accurately determine the priorities of research work and effectively solve the tasks. The paper pays considerable attention to biography of Dmitry Gavrilov, who, thanks to his determination, perseverance and innate talent, managed to turn from a village boy into a high school teacher, an outstanding researcher and a major organizer of academic studies. The paper gives a historiographical analysis of creative activity by Dmitry Gavrilov. The paper shows that his research field covered a wide chronological period of Russian history from the beginning of the XVIII to the end of the XX century, including issues of socio-economic, socio-political, socio-cultural, military and environmental history of the Urals. At the same time, attention of authors of the paper is drawn to the priority direction of his research work: study of the working class and the mining industry of the Urals and its core - metallurgical production at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. The paper also emphasizes that thinking of Dmitry Gavrilov was not confined to the framework of regional development, but revealing the essence of perturbations of the Ural society, always went out into the vastness of all-Russian and world generalizations. The paper concludes that rich heritage left by Dmitry Gavrilov in the form of his historical works allows us, using results of his researches, to continue moving forward in understanding and explaining historical processes that took place both in regional and all-Russian and world history.