Khariton Prokofievich Laptev (russian: Харитон Прокофьевич Лаптев) (1700–1763) was a Russian

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a 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 (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. Khariton Laptev was born in a gentry family in the village of Pokarevo near

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-П ...

(in the southern part of today's Pskov Oblast), just a year before his cousin

Dmitry Laptev Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev (russian: Дмитрий Яковлевич Лаптев) (1701 - ) was a Russian Arctic explorer and Vice Admiral (1762). The Dmitry Laptev Strait is named in his honor and the Laptev Sea is named in honor of him and ...

was born in the nearby village of Bolotovo. Khariton Laptev started his career in the Russian Navy as a cadet in 1718. By 1730, he was already in charge of a military ship, and in 1734 participated in the siege of Gdańsk. In 1739–1742, Khariton Laptev led one of the parties of the Second Kamchatka expedition. Together with

Semion Chelyuskin Semyon Ivanovich Chelyuskin (; c. 1700 – 1764) was a Russian polar explorer and naval officer. Chelyuskin graduated from the Navigation School in Moscow. He first became a deputy navigator while serving in the Baltic Fleet (1726) and later pr ...

, N. Chekin, and G. Medvedev, Laptev described 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 ...

from the mouth of the

Khatanga River The Khatanga (russian: Хатанга) is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia. The river is navigable. The river port of Khatanga is located on the river. Course It begins at the confluence of the rivers Kotuy and Kheta. The Khatanga is lo ...

to the mouth of the

Pyasina The Pyasina (russian: Пясина) is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. The river is long, and its basin covers . The Pyasina River originates in Lake Pyasino and flows into the Pyasino Gulf of the Kara Sea. There are more than 60,000&nb ...

river and discovered a few of the islands in the area. After the expedition, he participated in the creation of the "General Map of the Siberian and Kamchatka Coast", and continued his military service in the Baltic Fleet. The sea coastline of the Taimyr Peninsula, a cape on the Chelyuskin Peninsula and other landmarks bear his name. The

Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, t ...

was also named after him (and his cousin

References

Двоюродные братья Дмитрий Яковлевич и Харитон Прокофьевич Лаптевы
(The cousins Dmitry Yakovlevich and Khariton Prokofyevich Laptev) 1700 births 1763 deaths Explorers of the Arctic Russian and Soviet polar explorers Explorers from the Russian Empire Laptev Sea 18th-century people from the Russian Empire 18th-century explorers History of the Kamchatka Peninsula Imperial Russian Navy personnel Great Northern Expedition {{explorer-stub