1733–1743
Great Northern Expedition
The Russian Empire’s vast 1733 to 1743 expedition surveyed Siberia and the Arctic while Bering and Chirikov’s Pacific detachment sailed from Kamchatka toward North America.
Person
Vitus Bering
Danish-born Russian naval officer who led the Great Northern Expedition’s Pacific detachment.
Lifespan1681–1741
Rolesnavigator, expedition leader
Related expeditions
Sources and further reading
- Bering Expedition Landing Site National Historic Landmark, U.S. National Park Service. Official account of the 1741 landing, Steller’s participation, and early European contact in Alaska, used with explicit recognition of existing Indigenous homelands.
- Documents of the Second Kamchatka Expedition, Francke Foundations. Scholarly project describing the 1733 to 1743 expedition’s Siberian research and searches for sea routes to America and Japan.