Alexander Filippovich Postels (russian: Александр Филиппович Постельс; 24 August 1801
Dorpat
Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern Europe, Northern Europe, European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres ...
– 28 June 1871
Vyborg
Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus ne ...
), was a
Baltic German
Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...
of Russian citizenship naturalist, mineralogist and artist.
Postels studied at
St.Petersburg Imperial University and in 1826 lectured there on
inorganic chemistry
Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disci ...
.
In the 1820s political relations between
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and the United States were troubled by the extent of Russian territory in North America. Russia intended to enforce its claims by sending two warships to the disputed areas. When the two countries agreed on 54°40′N as the southern limit of Russian claims,
Czar Nicolas I changed their orders in 1826 to an extended three-year survey of the Russian-American and Asian coasts.
Otto von Kotzebue
Otto von Kotzebue (russian: О́тто Евста́фьевич Коцебу́, tr. ; – ) was a Russian officer and navigator in the Imperial Russian Navy. He was born in Reval. He was known for his explorations of Oceania.
Early life ...
had returned on 10 July 1826 from his voyage of discovery aboard ''Predpriyatiye''. On 16 August 1826, Captain Lieutenant
Fedor Petrovich Litke, sailed on board the Russian vessel ''Senyavin'', accompanied by the ''Möller'' under Captain Lieutenant
M. N. Staniukovich. Postels sailed with Litke as a naturalist/artist and had the distinction of being the first St. Petersburg University graduate to join such a large-scale expedition. On board were also the naturalist
Karl Heinrich Mertens
Karl Heinrich Mertens (Russian: Андрей Карлович Мертенс, 17 May 1796 – 18 September 1830 Kronstadt), was a German botanist and naturalist, and son of the botanist Franz Carl Mertens.
Mertens was aboard the Russian vessel ' ...
(1796–1830), who died in Kronstadt shortly after his return from
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
and another trip on the ''Senyavin'', and the ornithologist
Baron von Kittlitz.
left, Voyage of the ''Senyavin''
Their orders were to
''"reconnoitre and describe the coasts of
Kamchatka
The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and wes ...
, the land of the
Chuchkis and the
Koriaks (the coasts of which have not yet been described by anyone, and which are unknown except by the voyage of Captain
Bering); the coasts of the
Okhotsk Sea
The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...
, and the
Shantar Islands
The Shantar Islands (russian: Шантарские острова, translit=Shantarskiye ostrova) are a group of fifteen islands located off the northwestern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk east of Uda Gulf and north of Academy Bay. Most of the isla ...
, which although they are known to us, have not been sufficiently described."''
The expedition sailed from
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
, the Russian port on
Kotlin Island
Kotlin (russian: Ко́тлин) ( sv, Reitskär) is a Russian island, located near the head of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg in the Baltic Sea. Kotlin separates the Neva Bay from the rest of the gulf. The fortified city of Kronst ...
, via
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
and rounded
Cape Horn
Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
on 24 February 1827. The ''Senyavin'' called at
Concepcion in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, before sailing north to
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 ...
, and arriving at
Petropavlovsk in mid-September. They explored the
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
and the
Bonin-Jima group for four months, returning to Kamchatka in May. During the summer they sailed from
Avacha Bay
Avacha Bay (russian: Авачинская губа, Авачинская бухта) is a Pacific Ocean bay on the southeastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It is long and wide (at the mouth), with a maximum depth of .
The Avacha River fl ...
to Karaginskii Island and on through the
Bering Strait to reconnoitre the coast as far north as the
Anadyr River
The Anadyr (russian: Ана́дырь; Yukaghir: Онандырь; ckt, Йъаайваам) is a river in the far northeast of Siberia which flows into the Gulf of Anadyr of the Bering Sea and drains much of the interior of Chukotka Autonomous ...
. They returned via
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
and the
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
, arriving back in
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
on 16 September 1829.
The expedition was called the largest and most productive voyage of discovery of the era, and brought back some 4 000 natural history specimens, including mammals, insects, birds, plants, and minerals. More than 1250 sketches of their findings were made on the voyage. Twelve island groups were discovered along the Asian coast, and 26
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
were explored and described. The flattening of the Earth's poles was investigated using an
invariable pendulum. Postels was appointed assistant-professor of the Department of Mineralogy and Geology of St.Petersburg University. During the voyage Postels depicted more than 100
seaweeds
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
or marine algae from the northern Pacific in ''"Illustrationes algarum in itinere circa orbem jussu Imperatoriis Nicolai I"'' published in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 1840. The seaweed genus ''
Postelsia
''Postelsia palmaeformis'', also known as the sea palm (not to be confused with the southern sea palm) or palm seaweed, is a species of kelp and classified within brown algae. It is the only known species in the genus Postelsia. The sea palm is ...
'' is named in his honour. This botanist is denoted by the
author abbreviation Postels when
citing a
botanical name
A botanical name is a formal scientific name conforming to the '' International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) and, if it concerns a plant cultigen, the additional cultivar or Group epithets must conform to the ''Intern ...
.
Postels was elected an Honorary Member of the
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
on 14 January 1866 and invited to act as curator of the Mineralogical Museum. He tutored the Grand Duchesses Maria and
Ekaterina
Ekaterina is a Russian feminine given name, and an alternative transliteration of the Russian language, Russian ''Yekaterina''. Katya and Katyusha are common diminutive forms of Ekaterina. Notable people with the name can be found below.
Arts
*K ...
, daughters of
Czar Nicolas I's brother
Mikhail, and was the tutor of
Prince Oldenburgski's children.
KUNSTKAMERAThe Museum and its directors
/ref>
See also
* European and American voyages of scientific exploration
The era of European and American voyages of scientific exploration followed the Age of Discovery and were inspired by a new confidence in science and reason that arose in the Age of Enlightenment. Maritime expeditions in the Age of Discovery were ...
References
External links
Ships of Discovery and Exploration (Lincoln P. Paine)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postels, Alexander Philipov
Botanists with author abbreviations
Russian naturalists
19th-century botanists from the Russian Empire
Botanical illustrators
Russian mineralogists
1801 births
1871 deaths
Scientists from Tartu
19th-century painters from the Russian Empire
Privy Councillor (Russian Empire)