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Biography of Otto von KotzebueName: Otto von KotzebueBirth Date: December 30, 1787 Death Date: February 15, 1846 Place of Birth: Revel, Russia Nationality: Russian Gender: Male Occupations: explorer Otto von Kotzebue The Russian explorer Otto von Kotzebue (1787-1846) commanded two of the earliest Russian maritime expeditions which explored the Pacific and circumnavigated the world.Otto von Kotzebue was born at Revel (Tallin), Estonia, on Dec. 30, 1787. He was the second son of the popular German dramatist and supposed agent of Czar Alexander I, August von Kotzebue, whose assassination on March 23, 1819, by the radical Karl Sand occasioned Metternich's reactionary Carlsbad Decrees. Between 1803 and 1806 Otto served as a cadet on the Nadezhda, the vessel in which Adam Ivan Krusenstern led the first Russian voyage of circumnavigation.A keen sailor with a great interest in navigation, Kotzebue served in the Baltic after his return but was anxious to explore the Pacific islands which he had visited with Krusenstern. Impressed with his qualities, the latter recommended him to lead an expedition aimed partly at exploring the relationship between the Siberian and American mainlands and partly at gaining …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…in the Pacific, visiting the Hawaiian Islands and Honolulu. Between March and August 1825 he watched over the affairs of the Russian American Company at New Archangel (Sitka) and then returned home via the Cape of Good Hope. He anchored at Kronshtadt on July 10, 1826, having added to Russia's knowledge of the Pacific and discovered some new islands in the Society and Marshall groups. His subsequent career is obscure. He died at Revel on Feb. 15, 1846. Further Reading Not much information is available on Kotzebue, but the best sources are the English translations of his two narratives: A Voyage of Discovery, into the South Sea and Bering's Straits for the Purpose of Exploring a North East Passage, 1815-1818 (2 vols., 1969) and A New Voyage Round the World in the Years 1823-1826 (3 vols., 1967). See also Mairin Mitchell, The Maritime History of Russia, 848-1948 (1949), and Sir Peter H. Buck, Explorers of the Pacific: European and American Discoveries in Polynesia (1953). |