The largest geographical discovery of the 19th century. Russian travelers of the 19th century
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Russian travelers in the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th centuries. The names of the discoverers and their discoveries.
Russian navigators, along with European ones, are the most famous pioneers who discovered new continents, sections of mountain ranges and vast water areas.
They became the discoverers of significant geographical objects, took the first steps in the development of hard-to-reach territories, and traveled around the world. So who are they - the conquerors of the seas, and what exactly did the world learn about thanks to them?
Afanasy Nikitin - the very first Russian traveler
Afanasy Nikitin is rightfully considered the first Russian traveler who managed to visit India and Persia (1468-1474, according to other sources 1466-1472). On the way back he visited Somalia, Turkey, Muscat. On the basis of his travels, Athanasius compiled the notes "Journey Beyond the Three Seas", which became popular and unique historical and literary aids. These records became the first book in the history of Russia, made not in the format of a story about a pilgrimage, but describing the political, economic and cultural features of the territories.
Semyon Dezhnev, who founded the Anadyr prisonCossack chieftain Semyon Dezhnev was an Arctic navigator who became the discoverer of a number of geographical objects. Wherever Semyon Ivanovich served, everywhere he sought to study the new and previously unknown. He was even able to cross the East Siberian Sea on a makeshift koch, going from Indigirka to Alazeya.
In 1643, as part of a detachment of explorers, Semyon Ivanovich discovered Kolyma, where he founded the city of Srednekolymsk with his associates. A year later, Semyon Dezhnev continued his expedition, walked along the Bering Strait (which did not yet have this name) and discovered the easternmost point of the mainland, later named Cape Dezhnev. An island, a peninsula, a bay, a village also bear his name.
Semyon Dezhnev
In 1648, Dezhnev set off again. His ship was wrecked in the waters located in the southern part of the Anadyr River. Having reached on skis, the sailors went up the river and stayed there for the winter. Subsequently, this place appeared on geographical maps and was called the Anadyr prison. As a result of the expedition, the traveler was able to make detailed descriptions, draw up a map of those places.
Vitus Jonassen Bering, who organized expeditions to Kamchatka
Two Kamchatka expeditions inscribed the names of Vitus Bering and his associate Alexei Chirikov in the history of marine discoveries. During the first trip, the navigators conducted research and were able to supplement the geographical atlas with objects located in Northeast Asia and on the Pacific coast of Kamchatka.
The discovery of the Kamchatka and Ozerny peninsulas, the bays of Kamchatsky, the Cross, the Karaginsky, the Bay of Conduct, the island of St. Lawrence are also the merit of Bering and Chirikov. At the same time, another strait was found and described, which later became known as the Bering Strait.
Vitus Bering
The second expedition was undertaken by them in order to find a way to North America and explore the Pacific Islands. On this journey, Bering and Chirikov founded the Peter and Paul prison. It got its name from the combined names of their ships ("Saint Peter" and "Saint Paul") and subsequently became the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
On the approach to the shores of America, the ships of like-minded people lost sight of each other, heavy fog affected. "Saint Peter", driven by Bering, sailed to the west coast of America, but got into a severe storm on the way back - the ship was thrown onto an island. The last minutes of Vitus Bering's life passed on it, and the island subsequently began to bear his name. Chirikov also reached America on his ship, but successfully completed his voyage, finding several islands of the Aleutian ridge on the way back.
Khariton and Dmitry Laptev and their “named” sea
Cousins Khariton and Dmitry Laptev were like-minded and assistants to Vitus Bering. It was he who appointed Dmitry the commander of the Irkutsk ship, and Khariton led his double boat Yakutsk. They took part in the Great Northern Expedition, the purpose of which was to study and accurately describe and map the Russian shores of the ocean, from Yugorsky Shar to Kamchatka.
Each of the brothers made a significant contribution to the development of new territories. Dmitry became the first navigator to survey the coast from the mouth of the Lena to the mouth of the Kolyma. He made detailed maps of these places, based on mathematical calculations and astronomical data.
Khariton and Dmitry Laptev
Khariton Laptev and his associates conducted research on the northernmost section of the coast of Siberia. It was he who determined the size and shape of the huge Taimyr Peninsula - he surveyed its eastern coast, and was able to identify the exact coordinates of the coastal islands. The expedition took place in difficult conditions - a large amount of ice, snowstorms, scurvy, ice captivity - the team of Khariton Laptev had to endure a lot. But they continued the work they had begun. On this expedition, Laptev's assistant Chelyuskin discovered the cape, which was later named after him.
Noting the great contribution of the Laptevs to the development of new territories, members of the Russian Geographical Society decided to name one of the largest seas in the Arctic after them. Also, the strait between the mainland and Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island is named after Dmitry, and the western coast of Taimyr Island bears the name of Khariton.
Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky - the organizers of the first Russian circumnavigation of the world
Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky are the first Russian navigators to circumnavigate the world. Their expedition lasted three years (started in 1803 and ended in 1806). They set off with their teams on two ships, which bore the names "Nadezhda" and "Neva". Travelers passed through the Atlantic Ocean, entered the waters of the Pacific Ocean. On them, sailors sailed to the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka and Sakhalin.
Ivan KruzenshternThis journey allowed us to collect important information. Based on the data obtained by the navigators, a detailed map of the Pacific Ocean was compiled. Another important result of the first Russian round-the-world expedition was the data obtained on the flora and fauna of the Kuriles and Kamchatka, local residents, their customs and cultural traditions.
During their journey, the sailors crossed the equator and, according to maritime traditions, could not leave this event without a well-known ritual - a sailor dressed as Neptune greeted Kruzenshtern and asked why his ship arrived where the Russian flag had never been. To which he received the answer that they are here solely for the glory and development of national science.
Vasily Golovnin - the first navigator who was rescued from Japanese captivity
Russian navigator Vasily Golovnin led two round-the-world expeditions. In 1806, being in the rank of lieutenant, he received a new appointment and became the commander of the sloop "Diana". Interestingly, this is the only case in the history of the Russian fleet when a lieutenant was entrusted with the management of a ship.
The leadership set the goal of the round-the-world expedition to study the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, with special attention to that part of it that is within the native country. The path of "Diana" was not easy. The sloop passed the island of Tristan da Cunha, passed the Cape of Hope and entered the port, which belonged to the British. Here the ship was detained by the authorities. The British informed Golovnin about the outbreak of war between the two countries. The Russian ship was not declared captured, but the crew was not allowed to leave the bay either. After spending more than a year in this position, in mid-May 1809, the Diana, led by Golovnin, tried to escape, which the sailors succeeded in successfully - the ship arrived in Kamchatka.
Vasily Golovin The next important task Golovnin received in 1811 - he had to draw up descriptions of the Shantar and Kuril Islands, the shores of the Tatar Strait. During his journey, he was accused of not adhering to the principles of sakoku and was captured by the Japanese for more than 2 years. It was possible to rescue the crew from captivity only thanks to the good relations of one of the Russian naval officers and an influential Japanese merchant, who was able to convince his government of the harmless intentions of the Russians. It is worth noting that no one in history has ever returned from Japanese captivity before.
In 1817-1819, Vasily Mikhailovich made another round-the-world trip on the Kamchatka ship specially built for this.
Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev - discoverers of Antarctica
Captain of the second rank Thaddeus Bellingshausen was determined to find the truth about the existence of the sixth continent. In 1819, he went to the open sea, carefully preparing two sloops - Mirny and Vostok. The latter was commanded by his associate Mikhail Lazarev. The first round-the-world Antarctic expedition set itself other tasks. In addition to finding irrefutable facts confirming or refuting the existence of Antarctica, the travelers were going to explore the waters of three oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian.
Thaddeus Bellingshausen The results of this expedition exceeded all expectations. During the 751 days that it lasted, Bellingshausen and Lazarev were able to make several significant geographical discoveries. Of course, the most important of them is the existence of Antarctica, this historical event took place on January 28, 1820. Also during the trip, about two dozen islands were found and mapped, sketches were created with views of Antarctica, images of representatives of the Antarctic fauna.
Mikhail Lazarev
Interestingly, attempts to discover Antarctica were made more than once, but none of them were successful. European navigators believed that either it did not exist, or it was located in places that simply could not be reached by sea. But the Russian travelers had enough perseverance and determination, so the names of Bellingshausen and Lazarev are included in the lists of the world's greatest navigators.
Yakov Sannikov
Yakov Sannikov (circa 1780, Ust-Yansk, Russian Empire - after 1811) - Russian merchant from Yakutsk, miner of arctic fox, mammoth tusks and explorer of the New Siberian Islands.
Known as the discoverer of the ghost island "Sannikov Land", which he saw from the New Siberian Islands. He discovered and described the islands of Stolbovoy (1800) and Faddeevsky (1805).
In 1808-1810, he participated in the expedition of the exiled Riga Swede M. M. Gedenstrom. In 1810 he crossed the island of New Siberia, in 1811 he bypassed the island of Faddeevsky.
Sannikov expressed an opinion about the existence to the north of the New Siberian Islands, in particular from Kotelny Island, of a vast land called "Sannikov Land".
After 1811, traces of Yakov Sannikov are lost. Neither further occupation nor the year of death are known. In 1935, pilot Gratsiansky, who was flying in the lower reaches of the Lena River, near Kyusyur discovered a tombstone with the inscription "Yakov Sannikov". The strait is named after him, along which a section of the Northern Sea Route passes today. It was opened in 1773 by the Yakut industrialist Ivan Lyakhov. Initially, the strait was named after the expedition doctor E.V. Tolya V.N. Katina-Yartseva F.A. Mathisen. The current name is given to K.A. Vollosovich on his map, and in 1935 approved by the government of the USSR.
Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov (Shelekhov; 1747, Rylsk - July 20, 1795, Irkutsk) - Russian explorer, navigator, industrialist and merchant from the Shelekhov family, from 1775 engaged in the arrangement of commercial merchant shipping between the Kuril and Aleutian island ridges. In 1783-1786 he led an expedition to Russian America, during which the first Russian settlements in North America were founded. He organized several trading and fishing companies, including those in Kamchatka. Grigory Ivanovich explored new lands for the Russian Empire, was the initiator of the Russian-American Company. Founder of the North East Company.
The bay was named after him. Shelikhov Bay (Kamchatka region, Russia) is located between the Asian coast and the base of the Kamchatka Peninsula. Refers to the water area of the Sea of Okhotsk.
Ferdinand Wrangel
Wrangel showed himself from the best side, and he, tested in a difficult circumnavigation, is assigned to lead an expedition to the extreme north-east of Siberia, to the mouths of the Yana and Kolyma, in order to map the coast of the Arctic Ocean up to the Bering Strait, and in addition to test the hypothesis about the existence of an undiscovered land connecting Asia with America.
Wrangel spends three years in ice and tundra with his companions, among whom his main assistant was Fedor Matyushkin, a lyceum comrade A.S. Pushkin.
In between campaigns to the North, under the leadership of Wrangel and Matyushkin, a topographic survey of the vast coast was made, covering 35 degrees in longitude. On the territory of the recently white spot, 115 astronomical points were identified. For the first time, studies of the influence of climate on the existence and development of sea ice were carried out, and the first meteorological station in this region was organized in Nizhnekolymsk. Thanks to the meteorological observations of this station, it was established that in the interfluve of the Yana and Kolyma there is a "pole of cold" of the Northern Hemisphere.
Ferdinand Wrangel described the expedition and its scientific results in detail in a book that was first published in 1839 and was a huge success. The famous Swedish polar explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld called it "one of the masterpieces among the writings on the Arctic".
The expedition in the Chukotka-Kolyma Territory put Wrangel on a par with the largest explorers of the harsh Arctic. Subsequently, becoming one of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society, he thought over the project of an expedition to the North Pole. He proposes to go to the Pole on a ship, which should be wintering off the northern coast of Greenland, to prepare food warehouses along the route of the polar party in the fall, and in March people go exactly in the direction of the meridian on ten sleds with dogs. Interestingly, the plan to reach the pole, drawn up by Robert Peary, who entered the pole 64 years later, repeated the old Wrangel project in the smallest detail. An island in the Arctic Ocean, a mountain and a cape in Alaska are named after Wrangel. Having learned about the sale of Alaska by the Russian government in 1867, Ferdinand Petrovich reacted very negatively to this.
Pyotr Beketov (1600 - after 1661) - Russian explorer of the 17th century, explorer of Siberia.
One of the most exemplary "Russian conquistadors", who honestly served his cause and did not get involved in any adventures, Beketov was the founder of several Russian cities.
Biography
Almost nothing is known about the early years of the life of many prominent personalities of the 17th century; Pyotr Beketov is no exception in this sense. Information about him appears only in the 1620s, when he got a job as an archer in the civil service.
Some time later, in 1627, Beketov sent a petition to the tsar, in which he asked to be given the position of centurion in order to have at least some decent salary.
Vasily Poyarkov is one of the discoverers of Siberia. He made a huge contribution to the development of these lands.
In the 17th century, the Russian Empire dreamed of annexing Siberia to its lands. It was a huge and rich territory, where many peoples lived.
Special expeditions were assembled to study and annex the Siberian lands. One of them was headed by Vasily Poyarkov.
Years of life
Accurate information about the years of life of Vasily Poyarkov has not been preserved. Only documentary sources have survived to this day, in which there is information about his activities. They date back to 1610-1667.
Vasily Ermolaevich Bugor was an Arctic navigator and one of the pioneers of Siberia.
He explored unexplored territories, helping the Yenisei governor A. Oshanin.
Years of life
The exact years of Bugor's life are unknown, but historians believe that he was born around 1600 and died in 1668.
Biography of Bugor
Bugor did not have a noble origin. He was a Cossack foreman, participated in the construction of prisons and the study of Siberia.
Mikhail Stadukhin is a explorer and polar navigator of the 17th century who explored North-Eastern Siberia, a man who was one of the first to visit the north of the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as the Kolyma, Gizhiga, Penzhina and Anadyr rivers.
The geographical discoveries of M. Stadukhin became a huge contribution to the discovery and study of the Russian coast of the Arctic and the Pacific Ocean.
Years of life of Mikhail Stadukhin
Date of birth unknown, died 1666.
Biography of Mikhail Stadukhin
It is not known for certain what year Mikhail Stadukhin was born. Presumably, the Russian explorer was born into a family of Pomors in one of the villages on the Pinega River.
The development of Siberia in the 17th century is often presented as the most important event in the history of Russia in modern times.
It is referred to as the Russian analogue of the Great geographical discoveries of the European world and the conquest of the New World.
In part, this is a fair comparison. In the context of the emergence of the all-Russian market and the rise of the economy, the development of new trade routes is an important stage in the development of the country.
S. I. Chelyuskin is a sea traveler, researcher, member of a long-term expedition, who made serious geographical discoveries that were ignored during his lifetime.
Origin
Chelyuskin's ancestors (according to the documents of the 17th century - Chelyustkins) were at first quite successful people, held important positions, were well promoted, were rich
But under Peter the Great, Semyon Ivanovich's father fell into disgrace (he was among the rebellious Moscow archers) and until the end of his life his family vegetated in the wilderness, barely making ends meet.
Exact information about where and when S. I. Chelyuskin was born has not yet been found, approximately 1700.
Education
In 1714, the noble undergrowth Semyon Chelyuskin was admitted to a Moscow school, where boys were taught exact and navigational sciences. Here, the future researcher comprehended the wisdom of mathematics, geography, astronomy.
He was a smart and diligent student. In 1721, after graduating, he was recommended for a certificate for navigational activity.
Yu. F. Lisyansky is an outstanding Russian navigator, who together with made a trip around the world.
Youth
Y. Lisyansky was born in the Little Russian city of Nizhyn in a simple family of a priest in 1773. Since childhood, he dreamed of the sea, so he entered the Naval Cadet Corps and successfully graduated from it. By appointment, he served on the frigate "Podrazhislav" as part of the squadron of Admiral S.K. Greig. He was a participant in Gogland and several other naval battles in the war with the Swedes, served as a volunteer in the British fleet, participated in battles with the French on the shores of North America, sailed to the Antilles and India.
circumnavigation
Returning to his homeland, Lisyansky was appointed commander of the Neva sloop. This ship was sent on a round-the-world expedition under the leadership of I.F. Kruzenshtern, who commanded the second Nadezhda sloop. These two Russian ships left their homeland in the middle of summer 1803 from Kronstadt. In November 1804, Yu. F. Lisyansky and I. F. Kruzenshtern were the first in the history of the Russian fleet to cross the equator line. In February of the same year, both ships bypassed Cape Horn, entering the Pacific waters. Here the ships separated.
Khariton Prokofievich Laptev is one of the largest Russian polar explorers. The future conqueror of the Arctic was born in the village of Pekarevo, located not far from, in 1700. In 1715, young Laptev entered the St. Petersburg Naval Academy, which he successfully completed three years later and entered the fleet as a midshipman. In 1726 he was promoted to midshipman. In 1734, he took part in the war against Stanislav Leshchinsky, who had been proclaimed the Polish king a year earlier.
The Mitava frigate, on which Laptev served, is captured by the French in the course of hostilities, who resorted to deception for this. Upon returning to his homeland, Laptev, along with the rest of the Mitava officers, is sentenced to death for surrendering the ship without a fight, but the crew is found not guilty in time. After this misunderstanding, Khariton Prokofievich returns to the service. In 1737 he was promoted to lieutenant, and was appointed commander of a detachment in the Great Northern Expedition. The purpose of the campaign was to explore the Arctic coast between the Lena and the Yenisei, another great Russian polar explorer, Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev, a cousin of Khariton Prokofievich, also took part in it. In the early spring of 1738, members of the expedition arrived in Yakutsk.
Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev is a famous Russian traveler who, together with his cousin Khariton Prokofievich Laptev, became famous for his polar expeditions.
Born in 1701 into a family of small estate nobles in the village of Bolotovo. In 1715, together with his cousin, he began studying at the Naval Academy in St. Petersburg. Upon graduation in 1718, Laptev was promoted to midshipman on one of the ships of the Kronstadt squadron.
In 1721 he received the rank of midshipman, and in 1724 he became a non-commissioned lieutenant. From 1727 to 1729 he commanded the frigate Saint James.
The biography of the great polar explorer Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov is unusual and tragic. He was born in 1877 in a small Azov village, today this village bears the name of the great polar explorer. George learned hard work from an early age. His father, a simple Azov fisherman, went missing for several years. The boy had to work to feed his mother and eight brothers and sisters. He did not have time to learn to read and write, and until the age of 14 he could neither read nor write.
After his father returned home, in two years he graduated from the parochial school and ran away from home. What the boy did in that life and how he made his way to the desired goal is little known. But at the age of 21, Georgy Sedov received a diploma as a long-distance navigator. At the age of 24, after successfully passing the exam, he receives the rank of lieutenant.
His first hydrographic expedition was to the Arctic Ocean. The northern ice has long attracted the young sailor. He dreamed of conquering the North Pole and proving that a Russian person could do it.
It began, and the expedition to the North Pole had to be postponed. But the idea does not leave him. He writes articles in which he proves that the development of the Northern Sea Route is necessary. He worked on the Caspian Sea, in the Kolyma, explored the Krestovaya Bay in Novaya Zemlya.
Today we decided to remember the people after whom the seas in the Arctic Ocean and its environs were named, and also to figure out what else they were famous for.
Willem Barents
Dutch navigator and explorer.
The Barents Sea, one of the islands and a city on the Spitsbergen archipelago he discovered, as well as the Barents Islands off the western coast of Novaya Zemlya, are named after him.
The Barents Sea is named after Willem Barents
Three times (1594, 1595, 1596-1597) Barents went on a journey in search of the Northeast Passage from Europe to Asia. During the first two expeditions he reached the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. During the third, he discovered Spitsbergen and circled the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya; the ship was stuck in the ice. After the Arctic wintering, the team sailed to the mainland, embarking on two boats.
Barents ship, soon crushed by ice, in 1596
During his travels, Barents made such significant geographical discoveries and made such accurate maps that to this day he remains one of the largest explorers of the Arctic. The meteorological data collected by him are still taken into account in the study and forecasting of the Arctic climate.
Vitus Bering
An island, the Bering Strait, are named after Bering ( strait between the arctic and pacific oceans) and the Bering Sea ( in the North Pacific), as well as the Commander Islands. In archeology, the northeastern part of Siberia, Chukotka and Alaska (now considered to have been previously connected by a strip of land) is often referred to by the general term Beringia.
Postage stamp issued by the USSR Post in 1981 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Vitus Bering.
The strait and the sea, as well as the Commander Islands, are named after Vitus Bering
A native of Denmark. He was born on August 12, 1681 in the city of Horsens in the family of a customs officer. Together with his cousin Sven and comrade Sivere, he went to the East Indies on a Dutch ship.
Peter I included Bering in the number of commanders who were to lead the first ships under the Russian flag around Europe from the ports of the Sea of Azov to the Baltic, and then approved him as the commander of the then largest warship in Russia - the 90-gun battleship Lesnoy.
In 1725, on behalf of the emperor, Bering led the 1st Kamchatka expedition, sent to the Pacific Ocean in search of a land isthmus between Asia and America. The expedition went overland through Siberia to Okhotsk. In Nizhnekamchatsk, the ship "Saint Gabriel" was built, on which Bering went around the shores of Kamchatka and Chukotka, discovered the island of St. Lawrence and the strait ( now the Bering Strait).
In 1730, Bering returned to St. Petersburg, where he was awarded the rank of captain-commander. In 1733 he was entrusted with the leadership of the 2nd Kamchatka, or Great Northern, Expedition, the purpose of which was to describe the northern and eastern coasts of Asia and to get acquainted with the coasts of North America and Japan. Having left St. Petersburg in 1733, Bering reached Okhotsk in 1737, and only in 1741, on the ships St. Peter and St. Paul built there, did he set off to sea. During the storm, the ships parted. Bering reached Alaska, explored and mapped its shores, several Aleutian Islands, a number of Kuril Islands. On the way back he met a group of unknown islands ( now the Commander Islands). On one of them (now Bering Island), the ship's crew spent the winter. Here, many, including Bering himself, died of scurvy.
Of the 38 years that Bering lived in Russia, for 16 years he led the Kamchatka expeditions. In addition to the strait and islands, the sea, a cape on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, etc. bear the name of Bering.
Dmitry and Khariton Laptev
Given the harsh natural conditions of the Laptev Sea, it is easy to assume that the process of exploring its water area by travelers was not easy and safe. In addition, it should be taken into account that the work began back in the 18th century - at a time when the development of many sciences, including navigation, was in its infancy and the level of geographical knowledge was also not very high.
The brothers Khariton and Dmitry, after whom the Laptev Sea is named, began serving in the navy in 1718, where they were enlisted as midshipmen at a young age. By 1721, young people had already been promoted to midshipmen. Fate decreed that for some time the life paths of the brothers diverged. But Dmitry and Khariton were always faithful to the sea, the Russian fleet, giving the best years of their lives to the service.
The Laptev Sea was named after the brothers Khariton and Dmitry Laptev
Since 1738, the brothers again begin to serve one common cause. On the recommendation of his cousin Laptev Khariton Prokofievich was appointed captain of the ship "Yakutsk" instead of Pronchishchev, who died on the expedition. In the summer of 1739, an expedition began, whose goal was not only to survey the northern expanses of the sea, but also to inventory the coastal territories. Therefore, it included detachments that followed by land. Having a well-developed plan of action, a brave dedicated team on land and at sea, by 1741 Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev was able to cover the distance from the mouth of the Lena to the Kolyma on the Irkutsk ship. Having carefully processed the information received, he returned to St. Petersburg in the fall of 1742.
Khariton Prokofievich was supposed to explore the coast and the sea to the west of the mouth of the Lena. Huge difficulties and hardships had to be experienced by the detachments led by Laptev. The explorer and his companions did not stop even when they lost the ship, which was destroyed by ice. The expedition continued on foot. Its result was a description of the territories from the mouth of the Lena River to the Taimyr Peninsula.
The life of such people as the brothers Khariton Prokofievich and Dmitry Yakovlevich, after whom the Laptev Sea is named, can rightfully be called a feat. Amazing perseverance, purposefulness and love for Russia helped these people overcome the seemingly insurmountable.
Sir Francis Beaufort
A sea in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Canada and Alaska, as well as an island in Antarctica, are named after Beaufort.
Beaufort also developed in 1805 a twelve-point scale for estimating wind speed by its effect on land objects and by sea waves. In 1838, the Beaufort scale was adopted by the British Navy, and then by sailors around the world.
Sir Francis Beaufort was elected a Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy
From 1829 to 1855 he was in charge of the hydrographic service of Great Britain. In 1831, he became one of the initiators of the creation of the future Royal United Institute for Defense Studies.
Lincoln Sea
The sea was named by polar explorer Adolphus Washington Greeley during his 1881-1884 expedition. Lincoln's name is not associated with the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln, but with his son, US Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln.
Robert Todd Lincoln (left) and Adolphus Washington Grill (right)
The Lincoln Sea was named after the son of Abraham Lincoln
Adolph Washington Grill was an American scientist and explorer, as well as a polar explorer. Since 1868 he was in the service of the government signal bureau. In 1881, he led an expedition to Greenland sent by the US government to set up one of the 13 circumpolar stations for meteorological observations according to the plan worked out at the Hamburg International Congress in 1879. On the way back in 1883, part of his team died of starvation, one was shot dead on Greeley's orders. The half-dead survivors, along with Greeley himself, were rescued by a warship sent out to find the expedition. Greeley is the author of many works on meteorology and isothermal maps.
William Buffin
English navigator who discovered in 1616 the sea that bears his name and the island of Baffin Island.
Portrait of William Buffin by Hendrik van der Borcht
Nothing is known of his early life other than that he was probably born in London. He was first mentioned in 1612 in connection with an expedition to find the Northwest Route to India, as first mate to Captain James Hall. The captain was killed in battle with the natives on the west coast of Greenland. For the next two years, Baffin was engaged in whaling.
In 1615, he was entrusted with a second expedition to find the Northwest Route to India. On the ship "Discovery" Baffin explored the Hudson Strait. The accuracy of Baffin's astronomical observations on this voyage was confirmed by Sir Edouard Pari two centuries later, in 1821.
After the expedition of 1615, when he visited Hudson Bay, he became convinced that the Northwest Passage could only pass through the Davis Strait (between Baffin Island named after the navigator and Greenland). He followed this strait during his fifth expedition (1616) and, due to the favorable state of the ice, he managed to penetrate into the Baffin Bay named after him up to Smith Strait. Determining longitude at sea by moonlight is considered by many to be the first experiment of its kind. Baffin accurately mapped all the shores of "his" bay, but the expedition's discoveries in England were considered fiction and later removed from the maps. Such injustice continued until 1818, when John Ross reopened Baffin Bay.
