Aleksei Ilyich Chirikov (russian: Алексе́й Ильи́ч Чи́риков; 1703 – November 14, 1748) was a Russian navigator and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

who, along with Vitus Bering, was the first Russian to reach the northwest coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. He discovered and charted some of the Aleutian Islands while he was deputy to Vitus Bering during the Great Northern Expedition.

Biography

Early life

Little is known about Chirikov's early life other than that the Russian was born in 1703. There is a claim, which originated in 1941, that he was the son of one of Peter the Great's master

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

s. It is known that Chirikov began his service in the Russian Imperial Navy in 1716, and later in 1721 he graduated from the Naval Academy with the rank of

Sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

Exploration

In 1725–1730 and 1733–1743, he was Vitus Bering's

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and the

Second Kamchatka expedition The Great Northern Expedition (russian: Великая Северная экспедиция) or Second Kamchatka Expedition (russian: Вторая Камчатская экспедиция) was one of the largest exploration enterprises in hi ...

s, having been made a

in 1733. In June 1741 Chirikov in the ''St Paul'' and Vitus Bering in the ''St Peter'', who he was serving under, left Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and headed east. Some time after 20 June they were separated by a storm and never saw each other again. On 15 July 1741 Chirikov saw land at Baker Island off Prince of Wales Island at the south end of the

Alaska Panhandle Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia (and a small part ...

. This was about 450 miles southeast of Bering's landfall near

Mount St. Elias Mount Saint Elias (also designated Boundary Peak 186), the second-highest mountain in both Canada and the United States, stands on the Yukon and Alaska border about southwest of Mount Logan, the highest mountain in Canada. The Canadian side of ...

at the north end of the panhandle. Unable to find a harbor he sailed north along

Baranov Island Baranof Island is an island in the northern Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle, in Alaska. The name Baranof was given in 1805 by Imperial Russian Navy captain U. F. Lisianski to honor Alexander Andreyevich Baranov. It was called She ...

past the later Russian base at

Sitka russian: Ситка , native_name_lang = tli , settlement_type = Consolidated city-borough , image_skyline = File:Sitka 84 Elev 135.jpg , image_caption = Downtown Sitka in 1984 , image_size ...

. He sent out a longboat to find an anchorage. When it did not return after a week he sent out his second longboat which also failed to return. Now without any small boats Chirikov had no way of searching for the two longboats or landing on the coast to explore or replenish his supply of fresh water. After waiting as long as possible, he abandoned the longboats to their fate and on 27 July sailed west. He sighted the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island and Adak Island near the western end of the Aleutians. With water critically low he reached Petropavlovsk on 12 October 1741. In 1742, Chirikov was in charge of a search party for Bering's ship ''St. Peter''. During this trip, he located

Attu Island Attu ( ale, Atan, russian: Атту, link=no) is an island in the Near Islands (part of the Aleutian Islands chain). It is the westernmost point of the U.S. state of Alaska. The island became uninhabited in 2010, making it the largest uninhabite ...

. Chirikov took part in creating the final map of the Russian discoveries in the Pacific Ocean (1746). In 1746 was assigned the Director of Academy of the Naval Guard, St. Petersburg. Chirikov's name is given to Capes of the

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

Island,

, Anadyr Bay, Tauyskaya Bay, an underwater mountain in the Pacific Ocean, Chirikof Island and Cape Chirikof at the westernmost point of Baker Island. Chirikov died on November 14, 1748, in Moscow due to scurvy. He was buried in Tula Oblast.

References

External links

chirikov.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chirikov, Aleksei Russian explorers of North America Explorers from the Russian Empire 1703 births 1748 deaths Russian and Soviet polar explorers Russian navigators Explorers of Alaska Great Northern Expedition Imperial Russian Navy personnel Russian exploration in the Age of Discovery

Biography

Early life

Exploration

See also

References

External links