Pyotr Fyodorovich Anjou (; 15 February 1796 – 12 October 1869) was an

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

explorer and an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

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 a ...

.Анжу Пётр Фёдорович

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

Background

Anjou's grandfather was a French Huguenot who entered the service of Russia in the middle of the 18th century. His father became a Russian citizen and worked as a doctor. Anjou was born in Vyshny Volochyok, near

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

. He graduated from the Marine Cadet Corps. As a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, Anjou was given a task to describe the northern coast of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

in 1820. He and his assistants (P.Ilyin, I. Berezhnykh, and A. Figurin) described the coastline and the islands between the rivers

Olenyok Olenyok or Olenek may refer to: *Olenyok (river), a river in Russia *Olenyok (rural locality), a rural locality (a ''selo'') in the Sakha Republic, Russia * Olenyok Airport, an airport in the same rural locality * Olenyok Gulf, a gulf in the Laptev ...

and

Indigirka The Indigirka ( rus, Индиги́рка, r=; sah, Индигиир, translit=Indigiir) is a river in the Sakha Republic in Russia between the Yana (river), Yana to the west and the Kolyma River, Kolyma to the east. It is long. The area of its ...

and made a map of the

New Siberian Islands The New Siberian Islands ( rus, Новосиби́рские Oстрова, r=Novosibirskiye Ostrova; sah, Саҥа Сибиир Aрыылара, translit=Saña Sibiir Arıılara) are an archipelago in the Extreme North of Russia, to the north o ...

. In 1825–1826, Anjou participated in describing the northeastern coast of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

and the western coast of the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic basin, endorheic lake lyi ...

. He distinguished himself in the

Battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied fo ...

as a lieutenant of the line of battle ship "Gangut". Later on, he held a few commanding posts and also served in administrative and scientific establishments of the

Russian Admiralty Board of Admiralties (russian: Адмиралтейств-коллегия, ''Admiralteystv-kollegiya'') was a supreme body for the administration of the Imperial Russian Navy and admiralty shipyards in the Russian Empire, established by Peter the ...

. One of the groups of the New Siberian Islands bears Anjou's name (the

Anjou Islands The Anzhu Islands or Anjou Islands ( rus, Анжу Oстрова, r=Anzhu Ostrova; sah, Анжу Aрыыларa, translit=Anju Arıılara) are an archipelago and geographical subgroup of the New Siberian Islands archipelago. They are located betwe ...

References

1796 births 1869 deaths People from Vyshny Volochyok Russian and Soviet polar explorers Explorers from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian Navy admirals Explorers of the Arctic New Siberian Islands Russian people of French descent 19th-century explorers Russian people of the Greek War of Independence Russian nobility Naval Cadet Corps alumni {{Explorer-stub