1703-1748

Russian seafarer and explorer who, with Vitus Bering, explored the coasts of northern Siberia and southern Alaska. During the second of two Kamchatka expeditions, Chirikov became separated from the rest of the ships but continued on to the Aleutian Islands and, in 1741, was the first to reach Alaska from Siberia. In spite of an epidemic of scurvy on board, Chirikov returned to Petropavlovsk with his few surviving crew members after having been the first European to discover and name many of the Aleutian Islands.