Gleb Shishmaryov

Who was Gleb Shishmaryov?

Gleb Semyonovich Shishmaryov was a rear admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy. He is reputed for having surveyed the then little-known coast of Alaska as navigator. In 1815-1818 he accompanied Otto von Kotzebue his voyage to Alaska and around the world.

In 1820 Shishmaryov returned to Alaska in command of ship Blagonamierennie, accompanied by Lt. Mikhail Vasiliev on ship Otkrietie. Shishmaref and Vasiliev entered the Chukchi Sea and explored the coast of Alaska from Kotzebue Sound to Icy Cape and later from Norton Sound to Cape Newenham.

The name of this Russian explorer is sometimes transliterated as "Shishmaref" in the United States; the town of Shishmaref, Alaska, and the Shishmaref Inlet have been named after him.