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 cont ...
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 ...
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
Pskov Oblast (russian: Пско́вская о́бласть, ') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the city of Pskov. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 67 ...
), 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
A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
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
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 ...
. 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
N is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet.
N or n may also refer to:
Mathematics
* \mathbb, the set of natural numbers
* N, the field norm
* N for ''nullae'', a rare Roman numeral for zero
* n, the size of a statistical sample
Sc ...
, 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. Administrat ...
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 l ...
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  ...
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
, image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg
, image_size = 150
, caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign
, dates = 18 May 1703 – present
, country =
, allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present)
...
. 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, th ...
was also named after him (and 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 ...
).
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