1787-1846

Estonian naval officer and explorer who completed three round-the-world voyages, including the first circumnavigation of the world under the Russian flag (1803-06) with Baron Adam Johann von Krusenstern. From 1815-18, Kotzebue headed a successful circumnavigation of the globe, discovering several uncharted islands in the Marshalls, visiting California and Hawaii, and exploring Russia beyond the Bering Strait. From 1823-26 he headed another globe-circling expedition, continuing his explorations.