"Isabella Colomina"

Vitus Bering, born August 12 in Jutland. It was a Danish sailor and explorer in the service of the Russian navy. Is known to have led two major expeditions to Kamchatka in the Russian who explored the Siberian coast and managed to navigate the waters of the Bering Strait and reach the west coast of North America.
First expedition to Kamchatka
In 1725, under the auspices of the Russian government and Peter the Great, he traveled overland to the port of Okhotsk, crossed the Sea of Okhotsk and came to the Kamchatka peninsula. He built the boat Sviatoi Gavriil (St. Gabriel in Russian) and in 1728, aboard him, began heading north. The day of San Lorenzo, Aug. 10 (old style), 1728, discovered the (Alaska). The island was first known in Alaska that was visited by Western explorers. On August 16, rediscovered the Diomede Islands, which he named as being the day of St. Diomede as the Russian Orthodox calendar. Continued northward until they sighted no land in that direction (ie would have made it through the Bering Strait), demonstrating that Russia and America were separated by water. On his return Bering was criticized because it had not been watching the American continent, wrapped in fog. The following year began a search to the east to find the American continent, but was unsuccessful, but rediscovered Ratmanov Island, the westernmost of the Diomede Islands, discovered by Semyon and Dezhnev (c. 1605-1673). In the summer of 1730, Bering returned to St. Petersburg. During the long trip to Siberia, which earned him cross the entire continent of Asia, Bering fell ill and five of his children died during the voyage.

Second Kamchatka expedition (1733-1743)
Discovery Commander Islands (postage stamp of the former USSR, 1966). It plays the Bering route in the second expedition to Kamchatka and a recreation of his ship, Piotr Sviatoi Bering re-elected to lead a second expedition to Kamchatka, this time by the Empress Anne of Russia (1693-1740), niece of Tsar Peter, who had succeeded to the throne in 1730. It was this time a large company whose objectives were to explore a part of Siberia, the Russian coast of the north and the Okhotsk and sea routes between North America and Japan. Bering returned to the region of Kamchatka in 1735. With the help of local craftsmen Makar Rogachev and Andrey Kozmin built two ships: the Sviatoi Piotr (San Pedro) and Sviatoi Pavel (St. Paul), with which he left in 1740. Founded Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka, and from there, he led an expedition to America in 1741. A storm separated the two boats and Bering ended on the southern coast of Alaska in the Bering Sea, landing near Kayak Island. The second ship, captained by Aleksei Chirikov, landed in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. These voyages of Bering and Tchirikov occupied a central place in Russia's efforts to explore the North Pacific and are now known as the "Great Ships of the Northeast."

The harsh conditions of the region Bering forced to return. On the way back, found some of the islands of the Aleutian Islands, which he called Shumagin islands in honor of a sailor from his ship who died and was buried there. Bering ill and unable to manage his ship, took refuge in the Commander Islands (Komandorskiye Ostrova), southeast Bering Sea. On December 19, 1741 Vitus Bering died of scurvy on the island that bears his name, an island which also killed 28 members of his crew. A storm caused the wreck of the Peter Sviatoi, but the only surviving carpenter, S. Starodubstev, with the help of the crew managed to build a small vessel which had been recovered at the time of the sinking. The new boat was only 12.2 meters and was also named Piotr Sviatoi. Of the 77 men Sviatoi Piotr, only 46 managed to survive the difficulties of the expedition. The latest victim died the day before arrival. The SviatoiPiotr continuous service for 12 years, sailing between Kamchatka and Okhotsk until 1755. Its manufacturer, Starodubtsev, returned home covered with honors and later built other vessels. Among the tangible results of the expedition, including the discovery of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Commander Islands and Bering Island, include the precise mapping of the northern coast and northeastern Russia, the refutation of the legend of legendary people in the Pacific north and conducting an ethnographic study, historical and biological Siberia and Kamchatka. The expedition also ended the dream of the existence of a step-sought Northeast since the early sixteenth century that Asia and America could communicate. The second expedition to Kamchatka with 3 000 participants, direct and indirect, was one of the greatest expeditions in history. The total cost of the company, funded by the Russian state, at a cost of the incredible sum for the period from 1.5 billion rubles, about a sixth of Russia's revenues in 1724.

Recognition of his expeditions

The importance of Bering's work was not recognized for a long time, until British explorer James Cook on his third voyage proved by the region (1776-1979) the accuracy of their observations. Many geographical features of the area explored by now bear his name, as the Bering Strait, Bering Island and the Bering Sea. In addition, the Asian American region comprising Alaska, the eastern edge of Siberia, the Bering Strait and Bering and Chukchi Seas bears his name, Beringia and the ice bridge that once communicated both continents, the bridge of Beringia .
In August 1991, the remains of Bering and five of his crew were discovered by a Russian-Danish shipping. The bodies were transported to Moscow where doctors were able to establish its appearance. His teeth had no obvious signs of scurvy, which leads to the conclusion that he died of another disease. In 1992, the bodies of Bering and the other sailors were burried back on Bering Island.