97-550: The First Russian Antarctic Expedition took place in 1819–1821 under the direction of Fabian Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev . The expedition aimed to reach the Southern Ocean in order to prove or disprove the existence of a suspected seventh continent, Antarctica . The sloop Vostok was under the command of Bellingshausen, while Lazarev commanded the sloop Mirny . Overall, the crew [ ru ] consisted of 190 people. Due to extreme haste in equipping
194-528: A desalination machine . On July 26 the expedition arrived in Deal , and on July 29 reached Spithead in Portsmouth . The sloop Kamchatka under the command of Golovin was already there, finishing its circumnavigation. On August 1, Bellingshausen, Lazarev, officers, and Simonov hired a stagecoach and went to London, where they spent 9 days. The main aim was to receive ordered books, maps, and instruments. As
291-580: A scurvy outbreak, they brought malt broth, coniferous essence, lemons, mustard, and molasses. There were only 196 kilograms of sugar on board, and it was served on big holidays, such as Christmas or the Emperor's Name day . The regular daily crew drink was tea, with stocks refreshed in London and in Rio. Ordinary members of the crew were supplied from the treasury. According to the inventory, every man received:
388-626: A displacement of 530 tons; it more looked like a vessel from Cook's expedition. Each sloop carried four or five open boats of various sizes, from a four-row boat to six or eight-row boats. The Vostok was equipped with sixteen 18-pound guns installed on the battery deck and other twelve 12-pound carronades on the Spardek. In those days, it was believed that carronades were more effective for clashes with pirates or native canoes. Mirny had six carronades and 14 three-pound guns. While anchored in Britain,
485-511: A double expedition with four ships to reach the pole from both the Bering and the Davis Strait . When Alexander I heard about Barrow's plans, he ordered the sloops urgently outfitted and sent. However, counter admiral Lev Mitin [ ru ] noted that Bellingshausen's expedition was explicitly scientific and did not imply the goals of territorial expansion. According to Bulkeley,
582-579: A lieutenant on Blagonamerennyi . Finally, on May 4 [ O.S. April 22], Vasilyev was appointed as commander of the second division. Initially, Traversay wanted to appoint Makar Ratmanov [ ru ] as head of the Southern (first) division. According to the order dated the beginning of May (which is stored at the Russian State Archive of the Navy), Ratmanov was supposed to head
679-560: A list of all required books and instruments which were needed for the Bellingshausen and Vasiliev divisions. The ships’ libraries included Russian descriptions of the expeditions conducted by Sarychev, Krusenstern, Lisyansky, Golovnin. The French description of Cook's third voyage was also stored in the library since its first edition was absent from the Ministry of Sea Forces. The majority of descriptions of foreign voyages, including
776-447: A mattress, a pillow, a cloth blanket, and four sheets; four uniforms, two pairs of shirts and six pairs of linen pants, four sets of waterproof clothing (pants and jacket), overcoat, one fur hat and two caps, one nautical hat, three pairs of boots (one with flannel lining), eight pairs of woolen socks, and 11 linen and seven flannel sets of linen. Overall it cost 138,134 rubles to outfit the 298 crew members. Costs were shared equally between
873-407: A potential candidate for the head of the expedition. By January 1819, the Emperor approved this plan, although Gleb Shishmaryov was appointed as head of the expedition instead. In this context, it is not clear how the expedition became global, and how the plan of also researching the south polar region appeared. In the 18th and 19th centuries, any attempt to reach the hypothetical southern continent
970-545: A recent graduate of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , and doctor Gustav Kunze of Leipzig University . These scientists were to arrive in Copenhagen by June 24, 1819. Martens was to join Bellingshausen's division, and Kunze would be assigned to Vasiliev. However, when the divisions arrived in Copenhagen on July 15, it turned out that both scientists had refused to participate because of
1067-629: A result, not everything was acquired, and some items came only with the assistance of consul Andrei Dubachevskyi. The restructuring of Mirnyi and the purchase of canned vegetables and beer delayed the expedition in Portsmouth until August 25. On August 20, the transport Kutuzov of the Russian-American Company arrived in England. It was finishing its circumnavigation under the command of Ludwig von Hagemeister . On August 26,
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#17327718996891164-629: The Kronstadt Fortress . Four ships sailed as a single squad until Rio. By July 19, the expedition had spent a week in Copenhagen, where the crew received additional instructions and found out that the German naturalists were not going to participate in the voyage. The head of the Royal Danish Nautical Charts Archive , admiral Poul de Løvenørn, supplied the expedition with necessary maps and advised them to buy
1261-793: The Lahhetagge Manor [ et ] , Ösel County in the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire; now Saare County , Estonia . His paternal family had Holsteinish origins; the surname Bellingshausen was first recorded in Lübeck . He enlisted as a cadet in the Imperial Russian Navy at the age of ten. After graduating from the Kronstadt naval academy at age eighteen, Bellingshausen rapidly rose to
1358-593: The Russian American Company , even during the First Russian circumnavigation . Out of 23 circumnavigations that were carried out during the rule of Alexander I, half were commercial. Bulkeley suggested that Russian circumnavigations significantly influenced Alaska development and the politics of isolationism in Haijin and Sakoku . The Mulovsky expedition that was initially planned under
1455-754: The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 . Promoted to vice admiral , he again served in the Baltic Fleet in the 1830s. From 1839, he was a military governor of Kronstadt , and gained the rank of admiral in 1843. In 1831, he published the book on his Antarctic travels, called Double Investigation of the Southern Polar Ocean and the Voyage Around the World . Bellingshausen was born to a Baltic German noble Bellingshausen family in
1552-552: The first [ ru ] and second article [ ru ] . The Murny was staffed by five officers, including Mikhail Annenkov, Ivan Kupreyanov , physician Galkin, and hieromonk Dionysius, hired at the insistence of the Minister of the Sea Forces, as well as 22 non-commissioned officers, artillerymen, a servant, and 45 first and second article sailors. The crew received a generous bonus – even before going to
1649-401: The sloops Otkrytie and Blagonamerennyi . In the 1950s, historians raised the question of who initiated the two Russian expeditions in the high north and south polar latitudes. The prevailing opinion at that time was that in the 1810s, Adam Johann von Krusenstern , Gavril Sarychev , and Vasily Golovnin independently presented the two projects. On the contrary, English writers believed that
1746-574: The 1821 report on the Kotzebue expedition. As a result of this history, Tammiksaar and Kiik concluded that in addition to the political aims, Traversay initiated this expedition in order to outperform the results of Cook's voyage. This has been indirectly shown by the fact that Traversay did not discuss the south polar project with any of the experienced ocean navigators that were subordinated to him. Also, some notes in French and Russian with extracts from
1843-414: The 1st and 15th of each month. General deck cleaning was usually done on the move twice a week, and daily during the long stayings. The living deck was regularly ventilated and heated "to thin the air", and if the weather allowed, the crew took food on quarterdecks and forecastles , "so that decks do not leave damp fumes and impurities". On September 10, a vent pipe was put through the captain's cabin. This
1940-507: The Admiralty department and the Ministry of Finance. Bellingshausen cared about the health of the crew, and always bought fresh products in every port. The team washed regularly, and they tried to keep people on the upper deck until sunset, to ventilate and dry the crowded battery decks. Bellingshausen prohibited physical punishments onboard Vostok , but there is no evidence whether the same was true for Mirny . The Admiralty department made
2037-596: The Alexander Coast, but that has more recently borne the designation of Alexander Island . Bellingshausen and Lazarev managed to twice circumnavigate the continent and never lost each other from view. Thus, they disproved Cook 's assertion that it was impossible to find land in the southern ice fields. The expedition also made discoveries and observations in the tropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. Returning to Kronstadt on 4 August 1821, Bellingshausen
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#17327718996892134-799: The Antarctic mainland. Bellingshausen's diary, his report to the Russian Naval Minister on 21 July 1821 and other documents, available in the Russian State Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic in Saint Petersburg , Russia, were carefully compared with the log-books of other claimants by the British polar historian A. G. E. Jones in his 1982 study Antarctica Observed . Jones concluded that Bellingshausen, rather than
2231-619: The Emperor interested – Krusenstern reported on it on January 26 [ O.S. January 14]. Krusenstern saw that the government's mood was favorable toward sending a state scientific expedition to Antarctica. Kotzebue's discoveries in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean provided a benchmark for reaching the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait . In his report to Traversay, Krusenstern also mentioned Bellingshausen as
2328-401: The German scientists did not join the expedition have been widely debated by historians. The late invitation may have been dictated by the conditions of secrecy in which the expedition was equipped. According to archival data, decisions regarding German scientists were taken four weeks before the deadline for their arrival, and a formal order was released only on July 10, 1819, when the expedition
2425-839: The Institute from 1920 to 1946. As director of the institute, Debenham, in conjunction with Priestley and one of Shackleton's Endurance scientists, James Wordie , made Cambridge the centre of polar research in Britain. In 1926, Debenham was appointed to a lectureship in geography at the University of Cambridge. In 1931, Debenham was appointed as the first Professor of Geography in Cambridge. During World War II he trained service cadets, lectured to Royal Air Force navigators and devised relief-model techniques for briefing commandos. Author of "Astrographics: First Steps in Navigation by
2522-525: The Northern (second) division, but his name was later crossed out. Krusenstern claimed that Bellingshausen's appointment was entirely based on merit. However, Bellingshausen stated that he owed his place to Ratmanov's recommendation. At that time, Bellingshausen was serving as a Captain of the 2nd rank and commander of the frigate Flora [ ru ] in Sevastopol . His order of appointment
2619-609: The Pacific region in the belts at 20° north and south of the equator to the president of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Sergey Uvarov . The aim of the project was to explore undiscovered archipelagos and put an end to the Age of Discovery . He suggested that the project be implemented as a joint venture between the academy and the Ministry of Sea Forces. Krusenstern also mentioned this project in his foreword to
2716-521: The Royal Navy halved its provision amounts. Since Russian ships spent a lot of time in harbors, their commanders always bought fresh food. This practice was extensively documented in the official expedition reports. In Copenhagen in July 1819, Bellingshausen increased the meat ration to one inch of beef per day and one glass of beer per person, to improve military morale and physical abilities. To prevent
2813-646: The Royal Navy's Edward Bransfield on 30 January 1820 or the American Nathaniel Palmer on 17 November 1820, was indeed the discoverer of the sought-after Terra Australis . During the voyage Bellingshausen also visited Meretoto / Ship Cove in New Zealand, the South Shetland Islands , and discovered and named Peter I , Zavodovski , Leskov and Visokoi Islands, and a peninsula of the Antarctic mainland that he named
2910-618: The Russians with books and charts for their expedition. Leaving Portsmouth on 5 September 1819 the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle (the first to do so since Cook ) on 26 January 1820 ( New Style ). On 27 January, the expedition discovered the Antarctic mainland approaching the Antarctic coast at a point with coordinates 69º21'28"S 2º14'50"W and seeing ice-fields there. The point in question lies within twenty miles of
3007-482: The Southern Polar Ocean and the Voyage Around the World . In 1839 he became a military governor of Kronstadt , the main base of Russian Baltic Fleet , and died there in 1852. Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen is remembered in Russia as one of its greatest admirals and explorers . In the Antarctic , multiple geographical features and locations, named in honor of Bellingshausen, remind of his role in exploration of
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3104-451: The Southern continent is so large that I can bravely claim that not a single person will reach South further than I was able to do. Southern lands will never be researched. Krusenstern completely trusted Cook's authority and directly stated that the famous English navigator had "buried" the idea of Terra Australis . Soon after Kotzebue's return, on July 30 [ O.S. July 18] 1818, Krusenstern presented his project on researching
3201-674: The Stars", the 2 editions in 1942 were important works for the R.A.F.'s forthcoming Bomber offensive against the 3rd Reich. He was vice-president of the Royal Geographical Society (1951–53) and was awarded their Victoria Medal in 1948. Debenham was a prolific author; his published works include: "In the Antarctic: Stories of Scott's Last Expedition 1952"; "Antarctica: The story of a continent"; "Discovery and Exploration: An atlas-history of man's journeys into
3298-520: The ability to shoot rifles well. There were six officers on board Vostok , including Ivan Zavadovsky [ ru ] , Arkady Leskov [ ru ] , Konstantin Torson [ ru ] , physician Jacob Berg, astronomer Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov , and painter Pavel Mikhailov [ ru ] . The expedition also included 36 non-commissioned officers , artillerymen and artisans (including 4 officers' batmen ), and 71 sailors from
3395-542: The captaincy of Adam Johann von Krusenstern . After the journey, he published a collection of maps of the newly explored areas and islands of the Pacific Ocean . Subsequently, he commanded several ships of the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets . As a prominent cartographer, Bellingshausen was appointed to command the Russian circumnavigation of the globe in 1819–1821, intended to explore the Southern Ocean and to find land in
3492-582: The cohort of prominent Baltic German navigators who helped Russia launch its naval expeditions. Bellingshausen was born in the Estonian island of Saaremaa ( Ösel ), in the eponymous family . He started his service in the Russian Baltic Fleet , and after distinguishing himself joined the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth in 1803–1806, serving on the merchant ship Nadezhda under
3589-595: The command of various ships in the Baltic and Black Seas . From 1812 to 1816 he commanded the frigate Minerva and from 1817 to 1819 the frigate Flora , both in the Black Sea Fleet . During 1812 he met on Macquarie Island , half-way between New Zealand and Antarctica , Richard Siddins , the Australian captain of the ship Campbell Macquarie . When Emperor Alexander I authorized an expedition to
3686-773: The description of Cook's voyage and an estimate of the plan for sending two sloops – one to the Arctic and one the Antarctic – are stored in Traversay's personal papers in the Russian State Archive of the Navy [ ru ] . The minister later asked Sarychev, who had bad relations with Krusenstern and Kotzebue, to develop recommendations for a detailed plan. These anonymous notes do not mention such notions as "The North Pole" or "The South Pole". On January 22 [ O.S. January 10] 1819, Traversay met Tsar Alexander I. As of 2014, there were no documents on
3783-503: The expedition went to Tenerife with the aim of stocking up on wine and fresh supplies. While being in England, three sailors from the sloop Mirny got a sexually transmitted infection . However, Dr Galkin's prognosis was favorable; there were no sick people on Vostok . In the Atlantic, a working rhythm was established on the sloops: the crews were divided into three shifts. This system allowed sailors to wake up an already rested part of
3880-569: The expedition were published in Russian in 1831 in two volumes with the drawings applied in an atlas. In 1842, a short report was published in Germany . In 1945, a full English translation of Bellingshausen's only book was edited by polar explorer Frank Debenham and released. Bellingshausen and Lazarev's Antarctic expedition was equipped around the same time as a similar expedition to the Arctic taken on by Mikhail Vasilyev and Gleb Shishmaryov on
3977-461: The expedition, Mirny and Vostok . There is not much available data on these vessels. In 1973, S. Luchinninov created abstract designs of both ships, based on surviving drawings from the 19th century. Vostok was built by shipbuilder Ivan Amosov [ ru ] , who worked at Petrozavod in 1818 under the command of Veniamin Stokke [ ru ] . According to Bellingshausen, Vostok
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4074-529: The first publications on the expedition, and a series on magnetic measurements were published much later. Approximately half of the measurement material was included in the article on magnetism. All dates are provided according to the Julian calendar , the difference with the Gregorian calendar in the 19th century constituted 12 days On June 23 and 24, 1819, the Emperor and the Minister of Sea Forces visited
4171-419: The gun deck of the battery deck was shut down. Most of the crew were accommodated for the night in tethered hammocks on the battery deck, while officer cabins and the crew company were located at the stern of the ship. One of the main aims of Bellingshausen was to make sure that the sloops remained together during the expedition. The seafaring quality of the vessels was different, and Lazarev thought that Vostok
4268-561: The help of surplus funds raised by public donations in response to the tragedy, Debenham co-founded the Scott Polar Research Institute (Cambridge University) with Raymond Priestley , as a repository of polar information and a centre from which future expeditions could draw on support and experience. Debenham had developed the idea of such a learning centre in 1912 while in Antarctica. He was unpaid director of
4365-427: The hull further. The only drawback of the ship was its low speed. Bellingshausen decided to take on board supplies for two years, even though military vessels usually only contained stocks for six months. According to the official reports, there were four tons of dried peas, seven tons of oats and buckwheat, 28 tons of corned beef, 65.8 tons of crackers (grained and pickled), a lot of sauerkraut (the report only provides
4462-464: The initial stage of the double expedition project. The project may have been secret. Finally, on April 12 [ O.S. March 31] 1819, the Emperor personally signed an order authorizing 100,000 rubles to finance the expedition. At the same time, Krusenstern sent a detailed letter to Traversay from Hagudi which implies that he was not informed about the negotiations taking place in high circles of power. According to Traversay's personal papers,
4559-491: The instruction that was signed by the Emperor on May 22 [ O.S. May 10]. The most important points were: The Emperor also commands that in all the lands which they will approach, and in which the inhabitants live, to treat them [locals] with the greatest affection and humanity, avoiding as much as possible all cases of causing offenses or displeasure, but on the contrary, trying to attract them with caress, and never apply too strict measures, unless in necessary cases, when
4656-611: The instruments with their own money. Thermometers were designed with the Réaumur scale used in Russia, but Simonov also used the Fahrenheit temperature scale. Bellingshausen also mentioned an inclinometer , which he used onshore. The captain bought a deep-sea thermometer. However, he could not get a Pendulum instrument for gravimetry research. The functions of naturalist [ ru ] in circumnavigations usually spread over on all fields of knowledge which did not require
4753-523: The lack of political aims in the expedition program does not signify anything since neither the Admiralty instructions for the 1818–1819 British Arctic expedition of Frederick William Beechey , William Parry , and John Ross , nor Franklin's lost expedition of 1845–1848, had any written political aims. Thus, Bulkeley claimed that without any political aims, the expedition would be much less effective. The following passage in Bellingshausen's description
4850-418: The mathematical calculations made by astronomers or officers-navigators. The duties of expedition naturalist included not only the description of all new species of animals and plants, but also of cultures of primitive peoples, geology, and glaciological formations. Instructions by the Admiralty department mentioned two German scientists that were recognized as suitable candidates: medic Karl Heinrich Mertens ,
4947-498: The minister personally formulated the geographical objectives of both of the expeditions. Later, these items were included in the instructions published in Bellingshausen's report. Probably the main consultant was Sarychev. Due to a lack of documentary evidence, it is almost impossible to determine why the expedition was equipped in such haste, why the funding was doubled, or why four ships were sent instead of two. On February 15 [ O.S. February 3] 1819, Traversay signed
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#17327718996895044-408: The one conducted by George Anson , were available in French translations. The crews also acquired Nautical almanacs for 1819 and 1820, guides on navigation, hydrography and magnetism , as well as signal books. Money was also allotted to buy books in London, including the almanac for 1821, and maps from newly conducted voyages (including Brazilian ones). Bellingshausen also bought a world atlas that
5141-430: The order forming the expedition on behalf of the Emperor. In Traversay's documents, units were called "divisions". According to the available data, Krusenstern's role in planning and forming the expedition was minimal. The Vasilyev–Shishmaryov and Bellingshausen–Lazarev expeditions were respectively the third and fourth Russian circumnavigations to be organized and financed by the state. Both squads met in Portsmouth with
5238-422: The overall length of the route was 49,860 nautical miles . For 127 days the expedition was above 60° south latitude; the crew approached the Antarctic shore nine times, four times as close as 13–15 kilometres (8.1–9.3 mi) from the continent. Around 28 objects were depicted on the map of Antarctica which emerged, and 29 islands in high southern latitudes and the tropics were discovered and named. The results of
5335-525: The plan came from a minister of the Ministry of Sea Forces [ ru ] , Jean Baptiste Traversay . This theory was promoted by Hugh Robert Mill , a librarian of the Royal Geographical Society , and Frank Debenham , director of the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge . Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov , astronomer and head of the Bellingshausen expedition, claimed that it
5432-473: The proximity of the South Pole . Mikhail Lazarev prepared the expedition and was made Bellingshausen's second-in-command and the captain of the sloop Mirny , while Bellingshausen himself commanded the sloop Vostok . During this expedition, Bellingshausen and Lazarev became the first explorers to see the land of Antarctica on 27 January 1820 ( New Style ), disproving James Cook 's contention that it
5529-462: The quality of chronometers on Vostok "horrifying". By May 1820 the chronometers on Mirny were ahead by 5–6 minutes per day. In 1819, William Parry spent five weeks reconciling his chronometers in the Greenwich Royal Observatory , while Simonov dedicated no less than 40% of his observation time on the calibration of chronometers and establishing correct time. The deep-sea thermometer broke during its second use. However, Bellingshausen claimed that it
5626-460: The rank of captain. A great admirer of Cook 's voyages, Bellingshausen served from 1803 in the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth. He was one of the officers of the vessel Nadezhda ("Hope"), commanded by Adam Johann von Krusenstern . The mission was completed in 1806. After the journey, Bellingshausen published a collection of maps of the newly explored areas and islands of the Pacific Ocean . Bellingshausen's career continued with
5723-472: The rule of Catherine the Great was a reaction to the first voyage of James Cook in the northern part of the Pacific. Military-political goals determined the equipment of the Vasilyev and Bellingshausen expeditions. After the Congress of Vienna , Russian–British relations significantly worsened. Thus, Sir John Barrow expressed concern in 1817 that Russia would be the first country to open the Northwest Passage . In 1818, there were rumors that Barrow planned
5820-451: The salvation of the people entrusted to his superiors will depend on this. Judging by the available archival documents, appointing a commander was a very complicated process. Traversay constantly delayed his decision on the matter. On March 27 [ O.S. March 15], orders of appointment of Shishmaryov and Lazarev were released. Lazarev was given command of the sloop Mirny . Lazarev's brother Alexei Lazarev [ ru ] served as
5917-452: The sea, Bellingshausen received 5,000 rubles from the Emperor, Lazarev received 3,000, and all officers and privates were awarded an annual salary that "did not count". The Emperor ordered the salary increased by eight times, even though the standard salary of the sailor of the first article was 13 rubles 11 kopecks per year. However, Bellingshausen never mentioned concrete sums in his reports. Michman Novosilsky claimed that an increased salary
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#17327718996896014-521: The short time "to prepare everything needed". The instruments and guides the expeditions brought were of varying quality. Bellingshausen noted that after the death of astronomer Nevil Maskelyne , the maritime almanac lost precision, finding no less than 108 errors in the 1819 volume. The chronometers recommended by Joseph Banks , who promoted the interests of John Arnold's family, were unsuitable. The same firm set up for James Cook "very bad chronometers" that were ahead by 101 seconds per day. Bulkeley called
6111-473: The sloop Kamchatka , which was returning to St. Petersburg from the second circumnavigation under the command of Vasily Golovnin . Vasilyev's squad crossed the equator five days earlier than Bellingshausen. Bulkeley later refuted the theory that the expedition was entirely scientific. According to him, differences between the aims of the Navy and the Merchant fleet were blurred. He claimed that Krusenstern's expedition carried commercial cargoes and specialists of
6208-427: The sloop had an excessively large mast: the mainmast from the keel was 136 feet (41 m) high. The second vessel, Mirny , was of the same type as Blagonamerennyi of the second division, and was created in Kronstadt as a sea freight ship named Ladoga . After renaming, the vessel was modernized for the needs of the expedition. Its length reached 120 feet (37 m) and its width 30 feet (9.1 m). The ship had
6305-420: The sloops Vostok , Mirny , Otkrytie and Blagonamerennyi as they were being equipped. On this occasion, workers stopped retrofitting work until the officials departed. On June 25, captains Bellingshausen and Vasiliev were called for an imperial audience in Peterhof . The departure took place on July 4 at 6 pm, and was accompanied by a ceremony during which the crews shouted a fivefold "cheers" and saluted to
6402-407: The south polar region in 1819, the authorities selected Bellingshausen to lead it as an experienced captain and explorer, and a prominent cartographer. The expedition was intended to explore the Southern Ocean and to find land in the proximity of the South Pole . The preparation work on the two ships, the 985-ton sloop-of-war Vostok ("East") and the 530-ton support vessel Mirny ("Peaceful")
6499-474: The southern polar region. There is a memorial stone of Bellingshausen on the previous site (on the ruins) of Lahhentagge/Lahetaguse manor in Ösel/Saaremaa. There is a monument to Bellingshausen in Mykolaiv, Ukraine , as well as in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and in Montevideo, Uruguay. There is a monument to Admiral Bellingshausen in Kronstadt , near Saint Petersburg in Russia. Frank Debenham Frank Debenham , OBE (26 December 1883 – 23 November 1965)
6596-425: The team in the event of an emergency. In rainy and stormy weather, the watch commanders were instructed to ensure that the "servants" changed clothes, and the wet clothes were stored outside the living deck and dried in the wind. On Wednesdays and Fridays, there was a bath-washing day (in these days one boiler on the caboose was used for these purposes, which allowed the use of hot water). The bunks were also washed on
6693-413: The upper deck, and other issues. Just before sailing, the underwater part of Vostok was lined with copper sheets. Its hull turned out to be too weak for sailing in polar waters, and the crew constantly had to strengthen and repair it during the expedition. By the end of the voyage, the sloop was in such bad condition that Bellingshausen had to finish the expedition one month earlier than intended. Lazarev
6790-649: The volume of the barrels), and 3,926 liters of vodka. Although it was initially planned to use a "dry broth" or soup concentrate, this was not possible because the concentrate did not dry out after the boiling. Bellingshausen named suppliers of dried bread, meat, and cabbage individually because of the high quality of their provisions. The number of provisions was not enough, and the crews had to buy an additional 16 tons of grain and rum in Rio de Janeiro . The expedition also replenished its stocks in Denmark and Australia. They also bought 1.3 kilograms of tobacco per person, which corresponds to 1.5 modern cigarettes per day. Tobacco
6887-459: The voyage (the order was released on March 15, and the departure took place on July 4, 1819), it was impossible to assemble a science team. Thus, almost all scientific observations in the fields of geography, ethnography, and natural history were conducted by officers and the only scientist on board, associate professor Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov , who taught at the Imperial Kazan University . A novice painter, Pavel Mikhailov [ ru ] ,
6984-499: The western mountains of Victoria Land (the western journey) performing scientific studies and geological observations. He did not take part in the ill-fated journey to the South Pole due to a knee injury sustained while playing football in the snow, and instead took part in the second western journey along with Griffith Taylor, Tryggve Gran and William Forde. On his return from the expedition in 1913, he entered Cambridge University to write up his field notes. During World War I , he
7081-590: Was Emeritus Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography , Cambridge University and first director of the Scott Polar Research Institute . Debenham was born in Bowral , New South Wales, Australia in December 1883, the younger twin and third child of Rev. John Willmott Debenham and Edith (née Cleveland). He attended the school run by his father before attending The King's School, Parramatta where he
7178-504: Was Emperor Alexander I of Russia who initiated the voyage. According to Tammiksaar and T. Kiik, in 1818 Alexander I was highly interested in the results of Kotzebue 's round-the-world voyage on the sloop Rurik . In September, the Emperor requested a detailed report on the expedition. The report was prepared by Krusenstern, who also sent Traversay the manuscript of his article on the first attempt of Vasily Chichagov in 1765–1766 to reach high Arctic latitudes. Traversay then managed to make
7275-401: Was a Russian cartographer , explorer, and naval officer of Baltic German descent, who attained the rank of admiral . He participated in the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe, and subsequently became a leader of another circumnavigation expedition that discovered the continent of Antarctica . Like Otto von Kotzebue and Adam Johann von Krusenstern , Bellingshausen belonged to
7372-530: Was a fault of the staff. These issues led to no small confusion, not only on the expedition vessels but also in St. Petersburg. There is available correspondence between Traversay and the Minister of National Education , Count Alexander Nikolaevich Golitsyn , judging from which one can conclude that scientific team on Vostok should include naturalist Martens, astronomer Simonov, and painter Mikhailov. The reasons why
7469-697: Was a lieutenant with the 7th Battalion, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry . Serving in France and Salonika , Debenham was severely wounded in August 1916. He married Dorothy Lucy Lempriere in January 1917 and was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) in 1919. The same year he went to Cambridge where he became a fellow of Gonville and Caius College and lecturer in cartography. In 1920, with
7566-635: Was a ship which is "obviously not ready for such expedition due to its small capacity and a small amount of space as for officers, as for the crew". Bellingshausen claimed that Traversay chose Vostok only because Kamchatka had already completed a circumnavigation, even though its captain Golovnin reported on the unsatisfactory qualities of the ship. Besides the excessive height of the mast, the Vostok had an unsuccessful steering device, an insufficiently strong hull built of raw wood, coam hatches of low height on
7663-482: Was again stopped by sea ice. Though Cook never denied the existence of a Southern continent, he thought that it was impossible to reach: ...The most substantial part of the Southern continent (if we assume it exists) should lie within the polar region above the southern arctic circle. Still, sea there is so covered with ice that accessing the land is impossible. The risk associated with sailing to these undiscovered and under-researched and covered with ice seas in search of
7760-461: Was already in the Baltic Sea. Also, Kunze defended his doctoral dissertation on June 22, 1819, and it is unlikely that he would agree and be able to be present in Copenhagen two days after that. In his preface to the publication of the expedition report, Yevgeny Sсhvede [ ru ] wrote that scientists "were afraid of the upcoming difficulties". Bulkeley mentioned that the main problem
7857-401: Was an exact copy of the sloop Kamchatka , the prototype of which, in turn, was a 32-gun frigate designed by French engineer Jacques Balthazar Brun de Sainte‑Catherine [ ru ] . Vostok was launched on July 16, 1818, and had a displacement of 900 tons, a length of 129 feet 10 inches (39.57 m), and a width of 32 feet 8 inches (9.96 m). At the same time,
7954-551: Was carried out by Mikhail Lazarev , who had captained his own circumnavigation of the globe before. Bellingshausen became the captain of Vostok , and Lazarev captained Mirny . The journey started from Kronstadt on 4 June 1819. They stopped briefly in England, where Bellingshausen met with Sir Joseph Banks , the president of the Royal Society . Banks had sailed with Captain James Cook fifty years earlier and supplied
8051-548: Was decided to go beyond the budget boundaries, so the crews also bought two chronometers by inventor John Arnold (№ 518 and 2110), and two – by Paul Philipp Barraud [ de ] (№ 920 and 922), three- and four-foot refractors with achromatic lenses , a 12-inch reflecting telescope , and for Simonov – a transit instrument and an attitude indicator . Repeating circles by Edward Troughton proved to be inconvenient for use at sea. For ‘Vostok’ they bought sextants by Troughton and Peter Dollond; officers bought some of
8148-656: Was dictated by the geographical theories that were in vogue at that time. One popular theory held that the large landmasses of the Northern Hemisphere should be balanced in the Southern Hemisphere ; otherwise, the Earth could tip over. On January 17, 1773, James Cook became the first navigator to cross the Antarctic Circle during his second circumnavigation . However, when he reached 67°15′ south latitude , he faced insurmountable sea ice . In January 1774, Cook reached 71°10′ south latitude , but
8245-493: Was hired to depict the events, landscapes, and biological species encountered during the expedition. His paintings of the South Shetland Islands were used in English sailing directions until the 1940s. The Russian Antarctic expedition ended in complete success and became the second expedition to circumnavigate Antarctica after James Cook 's expedition a half century earlier. Of the expedition's 751 days, 527 were spent at sea;
8342-555: Was impossible to find land in the southern ice-fields. They circumnavigated the continent twice and never lost each other from view. The expedition discovered and named Peter I , Zavodovski , Leskov , Alexander , and Visokoi Islands , the Antarctic Peninsula , and made other discoveries in the tropical waters of the Pacific . Made captain-commodore [ ru ] on his return, Bellingshausen participated in
8439-455: Was made captain-commodore , and received the rank of counter admiral from tsar Nicholas I in 1826. He fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, — particularly in the siege of Varna , was promoted to vice admiral in 1830, served as a military governor of port Kronstadt at the approaches to St Petersburg , and gained the rank of admiral in 1843. In 1831, he published the book on his Antarctic travel, called Double Investigation of
8536-598: Was not always good at what he was trying to do. For instance, on October 5, 1819, Simonov got a severe burn while trying to catch a Portuguese man o' war , even though Bellingshausen warned him. According to Bulkeley, gravimetric and oceanographic observations were conducted more by Bellingshausen than by Simonov. For the captain, magnetic measurements were necessary as a significant aspect of navigation and geographical observations, and not for purely scientific purposes. For Simonov, journalistic and historiographic reasons may have been of equal importance. His travel journals became
8633-429: Was paid only two times, in silver; the other amounts were paid in assignation rubles that increased allowance by 250%. Besides that, officers and scientists received 30 golden Dutch chervonets Russian coinage [ ru ] food installments per month, which was equal to 70 silver rubles. List of all First Russian Antarctic Expedition members: Crew of Vostok Crew of Mirny Two sloops were equipped for
8730-573: Was released in 1817, and Matthew Flinders ’ 1814 atlas of Australia. During their stay in Copenhagen, he also bought a book on magnetism by Christopher Hansteen (1819). Based on this work, the crew carried out a search for the South Magnetic Pole . Astronomic and navigation instruments were ordered in advance, but not everything had been delivered when Bellingshausen, Simonov, and Lazarev traveled to London in August 1819. Bellingshausen mentioned buying instruments by Aaron Arrowsmith . It
8827-710: Was released on May 4. He arrived in Saint Petersburg on May 23, presumably alone, on a tarantass . On June 16, he received instructions and took the sloop under his command. In addition to funds issued by the treasury for travel on mail horses and the railway, he also received a bonus of 1,000 rubles. After his appointment, Bellingshausen received the ship's treasury of 10,000 silver rubles for unforeseen expenses. The expedition officers and crew were recruited as volunteers. However, there were strict selection criteria: perfect health, age not exceeding 35 years, knowledge beyond any specialty or shipboard skill, and, finally,
8924-577: Was replenished in Rio at the beginning and end of the expedition. There is no detailed description of the provisions for Vostok and Mirny , but records exist for the Blagonamerennyi and Otkrytie . Most likely the provisions were identical for both divisions. According to Bulkeley, standard provisions in the British Royal Navy exceeded the Russian ones; however, in practice provisions were often reduced as much as possible. In 1823,
9021-510: Was responsible for equipping the sloops because Bellingshausen was appointed only 42 days before the departure. He chose for himself the ship Mirny , presumably built by shipbuilder Yakov Kolodkin [ ru ] in Lodeynoye Pole and designed by Ivan Kurepanov [ ru ] . Lazarev was able to equip the underwater part of the ship with a second (ice) covering, to replace the pine wheel with an oak one, and to strengthen
9118-738: Was the top academic and sporting student of his year. He graduated from the University of Sydney with a BA in English and philosophy, then joined the staff at the Anglican Armidale School in New South Wales. He returned to university in 1908, studying geology under Sir Edgeworth David . In 1910 he was one of a group of three geologists on Robert Falcon Scott 's Antarctic Terra Nova Expedition (1910–1913). From January to March 1911 Debenham, along with three other expedition members (Thomas Griffith Taylor , Charles Wright (physicist) and Edgar Evans ), explored and mapped
9215-416: Was the unpredictability of the Russian naval bureaucracy. The main aims of the Bellingshausen expedition were to perform geographical research. Since Simonov was the only professional scientist on board, he also had to collect plant and animal samples in addition to his primary duties. As a result, Simonov passed along the collection activities and taxidermy to Berg and Galkin, the expedition medics. Simonov
9312-639: Was to keep the constable and brotkamera dry. The constable was a room on the lower deck from the stern to the main mast – or the aft cabin on the middle deck – which contained artillery supplies, which the brotkamera was a room for keeping dry provisions, primarily flour and crackers. The vent pipe was necessary because the brotkamera leaked and the officers’ flour got wet and rotted. Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Faddey Faddeyevich Bellingshausen or Fabian Gottlieb Benjamin von Bellingshausen (20 September [ O.S. 9 September] 1778 – 25 January [ O.S. 13 January] 1852)
9409-543: Was very remarkable: In case of gaining islands and yet unknown costs, and also in commemoration of our stay in different places, it was allowed to leave and to give medals – silver for important people, and bronze – for others. These medals were minted in the Saint Petersburg Mint ; on the one side it was Alexander I, and on the other was the inscription: sloops ‘Vostok’ and ‘Mirny’ in 1819, the same time when they were sent. The Ministry of Sea Forces published
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