
Gavril (also Gavriil) Andreyevich Sarychev () (1763 — 11 August (
O.S. 30 July) 1831), spelt "Sarichef" in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, was a Russian
navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's prim ...
,
hydrographer,
admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
(1829) and
Honorable Member of the
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...
(1809) in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
.
Biography
Sarychev started his career at the age of eight as a naval cadet and joined the
Imperial Russian Navy in 1781. From 1785 to 1794, he took part in the expedition sponsored by
Empress Catherine II and led by
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer
Joseph Billings. Sarychev, on ship ''Slava Rossii'' (Glory of Russia), described and mapped the coastline of the
Sea of Okhotsk from
Okhotsk to
Aldoma, many of the
Aleutian Islands
The Aleutian Islands ( ; ; , "land of the Aleuts"; possibly from the Chukchi language, Chukchi ''aliat'', or "island")—also called the Aleut Islands, Aleutic Islands, or, before Alaska Purchase, 1867, the Catherine Archipelago—are a chain ...
(especially
Unalaska). He also described the islands of
Pribylov,
St. Matthew Island,
St. Lawrence Island,
Gvozdev, and
King Island.
In 1802–1806, Sarychev led the
Baltic hydrographic expedition. He was also in charge of hydrographic research in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
since 1808 and led the compilation of the Atlas of the Northern Part of the Pacific Ocean in 1826. It includes engraving based on the sketches of the artist Luka Voronin. He became a Vice Admiral in 1808 and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences the next year. He became an Admiral in 1830 and served briefly as a minister of the navy. He died from cholera during a major outbreak in 1831.
Legacy
Cape Sarichef,
Sarychev Peak,
Sarychev Range,
Sarichef Strait and
Sarichef Island in
Alaska
Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
were named by explorer Lt.
Otto von Kotzebue after Gavril Sarychev, who was the Hydrographer General of the
Russian Imperial Hydrographic Service between 1827 and 1831.
The Soviet ship ''Gavril Sarychev'' was named after the explorer. The ''Gavril Sarychev'' took part in the search for
Korean Air Lines Flight 007 which was downed by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor just west of Sakhalin Island on 1 September 1983.
Works
*''Puteshestvie Flota Kapitana Sarycheva po severovostochnoi chasti Sibiri, Ledovitnomu moriu i Vostochnomu okeanu'' (1802) - with 51 plates
*''Atlas Svernoy chastii Vostochnogo Okeana...'' (Atlas of the Northern Part of the Pacific Ocean). Compiled in Sheets by the Imperial Navy Department from Latest Reports and Maps, 1826, under the Direction of Vice-Admiral and Hydrographer Sarychev). St. Petersburg, 1826.
‘Account of a voyage of discovery to the north-east of Siberia, the frozen ocean, and the north-east sea.’
See also
*
Russian Hydrographic Service
Notes
Sources
*
Puteshestvie flota kapitana Sarycheva po severo-vostochnoy chasti Sibiri, Ledovitomu moriu i Vostochnomu okeanu v prodolzhenie vos'mi let pri Geograficheskoi i Astronomicheskoi morskoi ekspeditsii, byvshei pd nachal'stvom flota kapitana Bellingsa s 1785 po 1793 god.'' (Travels of Fleet Captain Sarychev in the northeastern part of Siberia, the Arctic Sea and the Eastern Ocean in the course of eight years on the geographic and astronomical naval expedition under Fleet Captain Billings from 1785 to 1793) St. Petersburg, 1802.
*Reeddition: ''Puteshestvie po severo-vostochnoy chasti Sibiri, Ledovitomu moriu i Vostochnomu okeanu.'' (A voyage along the northeastern part of Siberia, the Arctic Sea and the Eastern Ocean), edited by N. N. Zubov. Gosudartsvennoye izdatelstvo geograficheskoy literatury. Moscow, 1952.
*(In English) Account of a Voyage of discovery to the Northeast of Siberia, the Frozen Ocean, and the North-east sea, 2 vols, in one. London, 1806–07. Reprint: Amsterdam and New York, 1969.
*The book which recorded the northern Pacific expedition:
''Geographic Atlas. North-east part of Siberia 1803''.*''Russian - American Bibliography''; by Peter Littke
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarychev, Gavril
1763 births
1831 deaths
18th-century explorers from the Russian Empire
Imperial Russian Navy admirals
Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences
Russian explorers of North America
Explorers of Alaska