Adam Johann von Krusenstern
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Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern was a Baltic German explorer and admiral in the Russian Empire who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth.
He was born on November 19, 1770 in Haggud, close to Rapla, Estonia and died on August 24, 1846 in Reval, now Tallinn, Estonia. In Russia, Krusenstern is known as Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern (Иван Федорович Крузенштерн).
He joined the Russian Imperial Navy after spending time in the service of Great Britain. In 1803-1806, under the patronage of Tsar Alexander I, Krusenstern led the first Russian circumnavigation of the world. The purpose of the two-ship expedition was to establish trade with China and Japan, facilitate trade in South America, and examine California for a possible colony.
The two ships, Nadezhda (Hope) under the command of Krusenstern, and Neva under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Yuri F. Lisianski, set sail from Kronstadt, rounded Cape Horn, and reached the northern Pacific. Both seafarers made maps and detailed recordings of their voyages.
Upon his return, Krusenstern wrote a detailed report, titled Reise um die Welt in den Jahren 1803, 1804, 1805 und 1806 auf Befehl Seiner Kaiserl. Majestät Alexanders des Ersten auf den Schiffen Nadeshda und Newa (Journey around the World in the Years 1803, 1804, 1805, and 1806 at the Command of his Imperial Majesty Alexander I in the Ships Nadezhda and Neva).
The report was published in two volumes in 1811 in Berlin; this was followed two years later by an English translation, published in London.
His scientific work, which includes an atlas of the Pacific, was published 1827 in St. Petersburg and won him an honorary membership in the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The Russian training ship Kruzenshtern is named after him.
External links
- Ilya Vinkovetsky, Circumnavigation, Empire, Modernity, Race: The Impact of Round-the-World Voyages on Russia's Imperial Consciousness, "Meeting of Frontiers" Conference, 2001 (http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/mofc/vinkovetsky.html)
- Barque Kruzenshtern (http://www.kruzenshtern.ru)de:Adam Johann von Krusenstern