Mikhail Dmitrievich Levashov (russian: Михаи́л Дми́триевич Левашо́в; c. 1738–1774-76) was a Russian explorer and Lieutenant of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

. After

Vitus Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741),All dates are here given in the Julian calendar, which was in use throughout Russia at the time. also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Danish cartographer and explorer in ...

's 1741 tragic venture he was, together with Peter Kuzmich Krenitzin, among the first to conduct an expedition to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

and the

Aleutians The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...

Life

Levashev was sent by Russian Empress

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

, as main assistant of expedition leader Krenitzin, to explore the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean and particularly the area around the Bering strait on four ships. Levashev was the commander of ship ''St. Paul'', while Krenitzin was in command of the ''St. Catherine''. Krenitzin and Levashev surveyed the eastern part of the Aleutian island chain. In 1768-69 Levashef wintered in a natural harbor in

Unalaska Unalaska ( ale, Iluulux̂; russian: Уналашка) is the chief center of population in the Aleutian Islands. The city is in the Aleutians West Census Area, a regional component of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska ...

. The following year, after resuming their explorations, both ships wintered in

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 west ...

. Certain geographic features of the Alaskan coast, like Avatanak and Akutan Island were named by Krenitzin and Levashev in the maps that were subsequently published. On 4 July 1770, when Krenitzin drowned, Levashef assumed command of the Russian expedition fleet and returned to

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 ...

, where he arrived on 22 October 1771.

Port Levashef A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, the harbor in Unalaska where Levashev had wintered his first year in the Northern Pacific was named in honor of this early Russian explorer by Lieutenant

Gavril Sarychev Gavril (also Gavriil) Andreyevich Sarychev (russian: Гаврии́л Андре́евич Са́рычев) (1763 — 11 August ( O.S. 30 July) 1831), spelt "Sarichef" in the United States, was a Russian navigator, hydrographer, admiral (1829) an ...

.http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=136:3:12952363097937718478::NO::P3_FID:1419073 Port Levashef - USGS

References

External links

The Naming of AlaskaOld map of Alaska showing Krenitzin and Levashev"s route
Bering Sea Imperial Russian Navy personnel Explorers from the Russian Empire Explorers of Asia Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Russian explorers of North America Explorers of Alaska 1730s births 1770s deaths 18th-century people from the Russian Empire {{Russia-mil-bio-stub