Otto von Kotzebue
| Otto von Kotzebue | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | December 30, 1787 Reval (Tallinn) |
| Died | February 15, 1846 (aged 58) Reval |
| Citizenship | Russian Empire |
| Parent(s) | August von Kotzebue |
Otto von Kotzebue (Russian: О́тто Евста́фьевич Коцебу́, Otto Evstàf'evič Kotsebù) (December 30, 1787 – February 15, 1846) was a Baltic German navigator in Russian service.
The second son of writer and diplomat August von Kotzebue, he was born in Reval (now Tallinn, Estonia), then part of the Russian Empire. After attending the Saint Petersburg school of cadets, he accompanied Adam Johann von Krusenstern on his voyage of 1803–1806. On promotion to lieutenant, Kotzebue was placed in command of an expedition, fitted out at the expense of the imperial chancellor, Count Nikolay Rumyantsev, in the brig Rurik. In this vessel, with only twenty-seven men, including the naturalists Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz and Adelbert von Chamisso, and the artist Louis Choris, Kotzebue set out on July 30, 1815 to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean and explore the less-known parts of Oceania.
Proceeding via Cape Horn, he discovered the Romanzov Islands, Rurik Islands and Krusenstern Islands (today Tikehau), then made for Kamchatka, and in the middle of July proceeded northward, coasting along the north-west coast of North America, and discovering and naming Kotzebue Sound or Gulf and Cape Krusenstern in the remote Chukchi Sea. Returning by the coast of Asia, he again sailed to the south, sojourned for three weeks at the Sandwich Islands, and on January 1, 1817 discovered New Year Island. After further cruising in the Pacific Ocean, he again proceeded north, but severe illness compelled him to return to Europe, and he reached the Neva River on August 3, 1818, bringing home a large collection of previously unknown plants and new ethnological information.
...
Wikipedia