Joseph Billings (17581806) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

navigator, hydrographer and

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 ...

who spent the most significant part of his life in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n service.

Life

Early life

Joseph Billings was likely born in Yarmouth, the son of a fisherman of the same name. His Russian service record, signed by him, indicates he was born in 1761. He worked on coal ships from an early age and later was apprentice to a watchmaker.

Royal Navy Service

Billings served as

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination o ...

on Captain Cook's final voyage from 1776 to 1780. Initially aboard , he was transferred to in September 1779. After the voyage, he was promoted to

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mo ...

. In 1783 he applied through the Russian ambassador Ivan Matveevich Simolin to enter the Russian navy.

The Billings Expedition

In 1785, the Russian government of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

commissioned a new expedition in search for the

Northeast Passage The Northeast Passage (abbreviated as NEP) is the Arctic shipping routes, shipping route between the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Pacific Oceans, along the Arctic coasts of Norway and Russia. The western route through the islands o ...

, led by Joseph Billings, the Russian officer

Gavril Sarychev Gavril (also Gavriil) Andreyevich Sarychev (russian: Гаврии́л Андре́евич Са́рычев) (1763 — 11 August ( O.S. 30 July) 1831), spelt "Sarichef" in the United States, was a Russian navigator, hydrographer, admiral (1829) an ...

as his deputy and Carl Heinrich Merck as the expedition's naturalist. Martin Sauer served as secretary and translator. Captains ,

, and Christian Bering had leading roles. The expedition operated until 1794. Though considered a failure by some scholars because the expenditures outweighed the results, it nevertheless had a substantial record of achievement. Accurate

maps A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

were made of the

Chukchi Peninsula The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; russian: Чуко́тский полуо́стров, ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form russian: Чуко́тка, ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the eastern ...

in Eastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...

, the west coast of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

, and the

Aleutian Islands The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large v ...

. Members of the expedition landed on

Kodiak Island Kodiak Island ( Alutiiq: ''Qikertaq''), is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second la ...

and made an examination of the islands and mainlands of Prince William Sound. Additionally, the expedition compiled a census of the native population of the

and reported to the crown stories of abuse by the Russian fur traders (''

promyshlenniki The ''promyshlenniki'' (russian: промышленники, singular form: russian: промышленник, translit=promyshlennik), were Russian and indigenous Siberian artel- or self-employed workers drawn largely from the state serf and ...

'').

Later years

After the expedition, Joseph Billings remained with the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

. He was transferred to the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

at his request. From 1797 to 1798, he conducted a hydrographical survey of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. He subsequently published an atlas of this work. In November 1799, he retired and settled in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. Billings died in Moscow on 18 June 1806, possibly at the age of 48 years.

Legacy

Cape Billings in the

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Chukotka (russian: Чуко́тка), officially the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug,, ''Čukotkakèn avtonomnykèn okrug'', is the easternmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia. It is an autonomous okrug situated in the Russian ...

was named after him. Billings Glacier on Passage Peak in Alaska was named after him in 1908.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
*Martin Sauer (explorer), Martin Sauer
''Account of a Geographical and Astronomical Expedition to the Northern Parts of Russia (1802)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billings, Joseph 1758 births 1806 deaths English explorers of North America English hydrographers Russian America Explorers from the Russian Empire Russian people of English descent Explorers of Alaska Royal Navy sailors