Dmitry Leontiyevich Ovtsyn () (unknown - after 1757) was a Russian

hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary p ...

and

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. The Ovtsyn family is one of the oldest Russian noble families, originating from the descendants of

Rurik Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...

, the Murom princes.

Ovtsyn's biography

Ovtsyn's childhood coincided with the time of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

's transformations in Russia. When Ovtsyn graduated from the Academy, he became a Navigator. While still a student at the Academy in 1725, he took part in the first long-distance foreign voyage of the young Russian fleet. In 1726 Ovtsyn graduated from the Academy and from 1726 to 1729 sailed on the same frigate "Amsterdam-Galey" as a Navigator student, then a Navigator. The young sailor soon attracted the attention of his superiors and was appointed to the post of adjutant to the chief commander of the

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 ...

port, which at that time was Admiral Thomas Gordon. In 1732, Ovtsyn was promoted to the rank of "non-Lieutenant from the soldiers". Two years later, due to his having experience and excellent knowledge in navigational and hydrographic matters, Ovtsyn was appointed to the great Northern expedition, led by

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 ...

. In 1734–1738, Ovtsyn led one of the units of 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 ...

that charted the coastline of the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

east of the river Ob. In summer of 1737, his unit made its way from Ob to

Yenisei The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat language, Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan language, Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas language, K ...

and made the first hydrographic description of this part of the Siberian coastline. In 1741, Ovtsyn took part in

's voyage to the shores of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Honours

A cape on the

Taimyr Peninsula The Taymyr Peninsula (russian: Таймырский полуостров, Taymyrsky poluostrov) is a peninsula in the Far North of Russia, in the Siberian Federal District, that forms the northernmost part of the mainland of Eurasia. Administrati ...

and a

strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

between the islands

Oleniy Oleny Island (also spelt as Oleniy and Oleni) (russian: Остров Олений) is a single island in the Kara Sea just a few kilometers offshore, north of the coast of one of the arms of the Gyda Peninsula in North Siberia. It is covered with ...

and Sibiryakov bear his name.

References

Ovtsyn's biography
18th-century births 18th-century deaths Explorers from the Russian Empire Explorers of Asia Kara Sea Explorers of the Arctic Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 18th-century people from the Russian Empire Great Northern Expedition {{Explorer-stub

Ovtsyn's biography

Honours

See also

References