Pyotr Fyodorovich Anjou (; 15 February 1796 – 12 October 1869) was an Arctic 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.Анжу Пётр Фёдорович
Great Soviet Encyclopedia

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. He graduated from the Marine Cadet Corps. As a lieutenant, Anjou was given a task to describe the northern coast of Siberia 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 The Olenyok Gulf, a ...

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. In 1825–1826, Anjou participated in describing the northeastern coast of the Caspian Sea 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. One of the groups of the New Siberian Islands bears Anjou's name (the Anjou Islands).

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