Vitus Bering

Who was Vitus Bering?

Vitus Jonassen Bering was an explorer and officer in the Russian Navy. He is known for his two explorations of the north-eastern coast of the Asian continent and from there the western coast on the North American continent. The Bering Strait, the Bering Sea, Bering Island, the Bering Glacier and the Bering Land Bridge have since all been named in his honour.

Taking to the seas at the age of 18, Bering travelled extensively over the next eight years, as well as taking naval training at Amsterdam. In 1704, he enrolled with the rapidly expanding Russian navy of Peter the Great. After serving with the navy in significant but non-combat roles during the Great Northern War, Bering resigned in 1724 to avoid the continuing embarrassment of his low rank to Anna, his wife of eleven years. Having obtained a promotion on his retirement to the level of first captain, Bering kept this rank when he decided to rejoin the Russian navy later the same year. He was selected by Peter to captain the first Kamchatka expedition, an expedition set to sail north from Russian outposts on the Kamchatka peninsula, probably with the greatest emphasis on mapping the new areas visited. Bering departed St. Petersburg in February 1725 at the head of a 34-man expedition, aided by the expertise of lieutenants Martin Spangberg and Aleksei Chirikov. The party took on men as it headed towards Okhotsk, encountering many difficulties before they arrived in the settlement. From there, they sailed to the Kamchatka peninsula, preparing new ships there and sailing north. In August 1728, Bering decided that they had sufficient evidence that there was clear sea between Asia and America, which he did not sight during the trip. For the first expedition, Bering was rewarded with money, prestige, and a promotion to the noble rank of Captain Commander. He immediately started preparations for a second trip.