Great travelers: list, discoveries and interesting facts. Travel History: Famous Travelers of the Age of Discovery

The beginning of the science of geography was laid in ancient times. Trade and military goals, the desire to explore new territories, to see other peoples and states forced people to make long journeys, discovering unknown lands. The ancient Egyptians, Minoans (inhabitants of the island of Crete), Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Indians set out on a journey full of dangers and adventures.

In the era of antiquity, geography was not separated from philosophy, history and medicine. It became an independent science several centuries before the beginning of new era. The original geographical work "Earth Description", which has come down to us only in fragments, was created by one of the first geographers Ancient Greece Hecataeus (546-480 BC). Talking about near and far lands, he used coastal directions and descriptions of land routes. Start historical geography and ethnography was laid by the famous ancient Greek scientist Herodotus (485-425 BC), who traveled from the Don steppes to the rapids of the Nile. Special attention devoted to geographical research and great philosopher and the naturalist Aristotle (384-322 BC), who became the founder of hydrology, meteorology and oceanology. However, the Greek scientist Eratosthenes, who used mathematical models in the science of the Earth, is rightfully considered the "father of geography". Many generations of geographers in their work were guided by the cartographic representations of Eratosthenes.

In the seventeen books of Strabo's "Geography", extensive materials were summarized that were stored in the Library of Alexandria, where the scientist worked for many years. Peru, the remarkable astronomer and geographer Claudius Ptolemy (circa 90-160 AD), owns the work "Guide to Geography", containing information about eight thousand great geographers of geographical objects with their coordinates. Until the 16th century, the works of Strabo and Ptolemy remained the most authoritative studies in geography, being the reference books of scientists, travelers and merchants of the Renaissance. In the XV-XVI centuries, in the era of the Great geographical discoveries, invaluable new information was obtained for the science of the Earth. And although people were called on the road not by a desire to comprehend the unknown, but by a thirst for enrichment, travelers discovered unknown oceans, continents and islands, studied the laws of the movement of winds and ocean currents, got acquainted with the culture and customs of other peoples.

At the end of the XVI century. the first results of the Great geographical discoveries were summarized in their cartographic works by G. Mercator and A. Ortelius. Mercator made maps the globe, and Ortelius - the first historical and geographical atlas. At the same time, the “Big Drawing” was created in Russia - one of ancient maps Russian state.

The rapid development of science in the XVII-XVIII centuries. did not bypass geography. In the work of B. Varen (Varenius) "General Geography" (1650), a classification of sections of geographical science was first proposed, new data on the planet were summarized. This work, advanced for its time, was translated into Russian by order of Peter I. In the XVIII century. the first works of American geographers appeared, and in Western Europe detailed geographical encyclopedias were published. The active development of the territory of Russia gave a powerful impetus to the development of geography. At the origins of the Russian geographical school were such outstanding scientists as V.N. Tatishchev and M.V. Lomonosov.

Major geographers 19th century- A. Humboldt, K. Ritter, I. Tyunen, K.I. Arseniev laid the foundation for a new geography. In earth sciences, comparative method, natural and economic zoning, spatial mathematical modeling.

For the great English biologist C. Darwin (1809-1882) and his followers, the evolution of the organic world was inextricably linked with the history of the environment. natural environment. Under influence evolutionary doctrine geographers also began to view the organic world as the most important component nature. Modern geography is unthinkable without the works of D.N. Anuchina, V.V. Dokuchaeva, V.I. Vernadsky, L.S. Berg, V.V. Polynova, P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky and many other remarkable scientists.

Afanasy Nikitin is a Russian traveler, Tver merchant and writer. He traveled from Tvrea to Persia and India (1468-1474). On the way back he visited the African coast (Somalia), Muscat and Turkey. Nikitin's travel notes "Journey Beyond Three Seas" is a valuable literary and historical monument. He is noted for his versatility of observations, as well as religious tolerance, unusual for the Middle Ages, combined with devotion to the Christian faith and native land.

Semyon Dezhnev (1605 -1673)

Outstanding Russian navigator, explorer, traveler, explorer of the North and Eastern Siberia. In 1648, Dezhnev was the first among the famous European navigators (80 years earlier than Vitus Bering) who managed to pass the Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Chukotka. A Cossack ataman and fur trader, Dezhnev actively participated in the development of Siberia (Dezhnev himself married a Yakut Abakayada Syuchyu).

Grigory Shelikhov (1747 - 1795)

Russian industrialist who geographical research northern islands Pacific Ocean and Alaska. He founded the first settlements in Russian America. The strait between about. Kodiak and the North American mainland, a bay in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, a city in the Irkutsk region and a volcano in the Kuriles. A remarkable Russian merchant, geographer and traveler, nicknamed light hand G. R. Derzhavin "Russian Columbus", was born in 1747 in the city of Rylsk, Kursk province in a bourgeois family. Overcoming the space from Irkutsk to the Lama (Okhotsk) Sea was his first journey. In 1781, Shelikhov created the Northeast Company, which in 1799 was transformed into the Russian-American Trading Company.

Dmitry Ovtsyn (1704 - 1757)

Russian hydrographer and traveler, led the second of the detachments of the Great Northern Expedition. Produced the first hydrographic inventory of the coast of Siberia between the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei. He discovered the Gydan Bay and the Gydan Peninsula. Participated in the last voyage of Vitus Bering to the shores of North America. A cape and an island in the Yenisei Bay bear his name. Dmitry Leontyevich Ovtsyn was in the Russian fleet from 1726, took part in the first voyage of Vitus Bering to the shores of Kamchatka, and by the time the expedition was organized, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant. The significance of Ovtsyn's expedition, like that of the rest of the detachments of the Great Northern Expedition, is extremely great. Based on the inventories compiled by Ovtsyn, maps of the places he explored were prepared until the beginning of the 20th century.

Ivan Kruzenshtern (1770 - 1846)

Russian navigator, admiral, led the first Russian round-the-world expedition. For the first time mapped most of the coast of about. Sakhalin. One of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society. The strait in the northern part bears his name. Kuril Islands, the passage between about. Tsushima and the islands of Iki and Okinoshima in the Korea Strait, islands in the Bering Strait and the Tuamotu Archipelago, a mountain on Novaya Zemlya. On June 26, 1803, the ships "Neva" and "Nadezhda" left Kronstadt and headed for the coast of Brazil. This was the first passage of Russian ships to the southern hemisphere. On August 19, 1806, during a stay in Copenhagen, a Danish prince visited a Russian ship, who wished to meet Russian sailors and listen to their stories. The first Russian circumnavigation had a great scientific and practical value and attracted the attention of the whole world. Russian navigators corrected in many points English cards considered to be the most accurate at the time.

Thaddeus Bellingshausen (1778 - 1852)

Thaddeus Bellingshausen - Russian navigator, participant of the first Russian circumnavigation I. F. Kruzenshtern. Leader of the first Russian Antarctic expedition that discovered Antarctica. Admiral. His name is given to the sea off the coast of Antarctica, the underwater basin between the continental slopes of Antarctica and South America, islands in the Pacific, Atlantic oceans and the Aral Sea, the first Soviet polar station on about. King George in the South Shetland Islands. The future discoverer of the southern polar continent was born on September 20, 1778 on the island of Ezel near Arensburg in Livonia (Estonia).

Fyodor Litke (1797-1882)

Fyodor Litke - Russian navigator and geographer, count and admiral. Head of the round-the-world expedition and research on Novaya Zemlya and the Barents Sea. Discovered two groups of islands in the Caroline chain. One of the founders and leaders of the Russian Geographical Society. The name of Litke is 15 points on the map. Litke led the nineteenth Russian round-the-world expedition for hydrographic studies of little-known areas of the Pacific Ocean. Litke's voyage was one of the most successful Russian circumnavigations in history and was of great scientific importance. The exact coordinates of the main points of Kamchatka were determined, the islands were described - Karolinsky, Karaginsky, etc., the Chukchi coast from Cape Dezhnev to the mouth of the river. Anadyr. The discoveries were so important that Germany and France, arguing over the Caroline Islands, turned to Litka for advice on their location.

On August 18, we celebrate the birthday of the Russian Geographical Society - one of the oldest Russian public organizations, and the only one that has continuously existed since its inception in 1845.

Just think about it: neither wars, nor revolutions, nor periods of devastation, timelessness, and the collapse of the country did not stop its existence! There have always been daredevils, scientists, mad researchers who, both in prosperous and in the most difficult times, took any risk for the sake of science. And even now, at the moment, new full members of the Russian Geographical Society are on their way. "MIR 24" tells only about some of the great travelers who glorified the Russian Geographical Society.

Ivan Krusenstern (1770 - 1846)

Photo: unknown artist, 1838.

Russian navigator, admiral, one of the initiators of the creation of the Russian Geographical Society. He led the first Russian round-the-world expedition.

Even in his youth, fellow students in the Naval Cadet Corps noted the unbending, "sea" character of the future Russian admiral. His faithful colleague, friend and rival Yuri Lisyansky, who became the commander of the second ship in their legendary circumnavigation, noted that the main qualities of cadet Kruzenshtern were "reliability, commitment and lack of interest in everyday life."

It was then, during the years of study, that his dreams were born to explore distant lands and oceans. However, they did not come true soon, only in 1803. As part of the first Russian round the world expedition included the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva".
During this expedition, a new route was established to the Russian possessions in Kamchatka and Alaska. The western coast of Japan, the southern and eastern parts of Sakhalin were plotted on the map, and part of the Kuril ridge was comprehensively studied.

Photo: "I. F. Krusenstern in Avacha Bay, Friedrich Georg Veich, 1806

During his round-the-world trip, measurements of the speed of currents, temperature at different depths, determination of salinity and specific gravity water and more. Thus, Ivan Kruzenshtern became one of the founders of Russian oceanology.

Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky (1827 - 1914)

Photo: Alexandre Quinet, 1870

Vice-chairman of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society and its leading scientist - but not an armchair. He was a brave and stubborn pioneer. He explored Altai, Tarbagatai, Semirechensky and Zailiysky Alatau, Lake Issyk-Kul. Only climbers will be able to appreciate the way the brave traveler traveled through the hard-to-reach mountains of the Central Tien Shan, where Europeans have not yet been able to reach. He discovered and for the first time conquered the peak of Khan-Tengri with glaciers on its slopes and proved that the opinion of the international scientific world that a ridge of volcanoes erupts in these places is erroneous. The scientist also found out where the sources of the Naryn, Sarydzhaz and Chu rivers come from, penetrated into the upper reaches of the Syr Darya, which had not been traveled before.

Semenov-Tyan-Shansky became the actual creator of the new Russian geographical school, offering the international scientific world a fundamentally new way of knowledge. Being at the same time a geologist, botanist and zoologist, he first began to consider natural systems in their unity. A geological structure mountains compared with the mountainous terrain and revealed patterns on which the entire scientific world later began to rely.

Nikolai Miklukho-Maclay (1846-1888)

Photo: ITAR-TASS, 1963

The famous Russian traveler, anthropologist, explorer, who made a number of expeditions to the previously unexplored New Guinea and other Pacific islands. Accompanied by only two servants, he lived among the Papuans for a long time, collected the richest materials about primitive peoples, made friends with them, and helped them.

Here is what his biographers write about the scientist: “The most characteristic of Miklouho-Maclay is an amazing combination of traits of a brave traveler, a tireless enthusiastic researcher, a widely erudite scientist, a progressive humanist thinker, an energetic public figure, a fighter for the rights of the oppressed colonial peoples. Such qualities separately are not particularly rare, but the combination of all of them in one person is a completely exceptional phenomenon.

In his travels, Miklouho-Maclay also collected a lot of information about the peoples of Indonesia and Malaya, the Philippines, Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia and western Polynesia. He was ahead of his time. His work was not sufficiently appreciated in the 19th century, but anthropological researchers of the 20th and 21st centuries consider his contribution to science to be a real scientific feat.

Nikolai Przhevalsky (1839-1888)

Photo: ITAR-TASS, 1948

Russian military figure, major general, one of the greatest Russian geographers and travelers, who consciously prepared himself for travel since the gymnasium.

Przhevalsky devoted 11 years of his life to long expeditions. First, he led a two-year expedition to the Ussuri region (1867-1869), and after that, in 1870-1885, he made four trips to the little-known regions of Central Asia.

The first expedition in the region of Central Asia was devoted to the study of Mongolia, China and Tibet. Przhevalsky collected scientific evidence that the Gobi is not a plateau, and the Nanshan mountains are not a ridge, but a mountain system. The explorer owns the discovery of a whole series of mountains, ranges, and lakes.

During the second expedition, the scientist discovered new Altyntag mountains, and for the first time described two rivers and a lake. And the border of the Tibet highlands, thanks to his research, had to be moved more than 300 km to the north on the maps.

In the third expedition, Przhevalsky singled out several ranges in Nanshan, Kunlun and Tibet, described Lake Kukunor, as well as the upper reaches of the great rivers of China, the Huang He and Yangtze. Despite his illness, the discoverer also organized the fourth expedition to Tibet in 1883-1885, during which he discovered a number of new lakes and ridges.

He described more than 30 thousand kilometers of the path he traveled, collected unique collections. He discovered not only mountains and rivers, but also hitherto unknown representatives of the animal world: a wild camel, a Tibetan bear, a wild horse.
Like many prominent geographers of that time, Przhevalsky was the owner of a good and lively literary language. He wrote several books about his travels, in which he gave vivid description Asia: its flora, fauna, climate and its peoples.

Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky (1863-1944)

Photo: Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, 1912

Ancestor of the era of color photography in Russia. He was the first to capture in color nature, cities and people's lives over a vast stretch from Baltic Sea to the East of Russia.

He created a system of color reproduction for photography: from the recipe of the emulsion, which is applied to glass plates for photography, to the drawings of special equipment for color photography and the projection of the resulting color images.

Since 1903, he has been constantly on trips: with the obsession of a real traveler, he takes pictures of the natural beauties of Russia, its inhabitants, cities, architectural monuments - all genuine sights Russian Empire.

In December 1906-January 1907 Prokudin-Gorsky traveled to Turkestan with an expedition of the Russian Geographical Society to photograph the solar eclipse. It was not possible to capture the eclipse in color, but the ancient monuments of Bukhara and Samarkand, colorful local types of people and much more were filmed.

In the autumn of 1908, Nicholas II himself provided Prokudin-Gorsky with the necessary vehicles and gave permission to shoot in any place so that the photographer could capture "in natural paints» all the main sights of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. In total, it is planned to take 10 thousand pictures in 10 years.

A few days after meeting with the tsar, the photographer sets off along the Mariinsky waterway from St. Petersburg almost to the Volga itself. For three and a half years he has been constantly moving and taking pictures. First, he takes pictures of the northern part of the industrial Urals. Then he makes two trips along the Volga, capturing it from its very source to Nizhny Novgorod. In between, he shoots the southern part of the Urals. And then - numerous monuments of antiquity in Kostroma and the Yaroslavl province. In the spring and autumn of 1911, the photographer manages to visit the Trans-Caspian region and Turkestan twice more, where he tried color filming for the first time in history.

This is followed by two photo expeditions to the Caucasus, where he photographs the Mugan steppe, undertakes a grandiose trip along the planned Kama-Tobolsk waterway, conducts extensive surveys of areas associated with the memory of Patriotic war 1812 - from Maloyaroslavets to Lithuanian Vilna, photographs Ryazan, Suzdal, the construction of the Kuzminskaya and Beloomutovskaya dams on the Oka.

Then financial difficulties begin, the financing of expeditions is interrupted. In 1913-1914. Prokudin-Gorsky is engaged in the creation of the first color cinema. But further development this new project was thwarted by the First World War. None of Prokudin-Gorsky's experimental color films has yet been found.

Artur Chilingarov (born 1939)

Photo: Lev Fedoseev/ITAR-TASS

Famous polar explorer, Hero Soviet Union, Hero Russian Federation, a prominent Russian scientist, author of a series scientific works on the problems of development of the North and the Arctic. Lives and works in Moscow.

Since 1963, he has been studying the Arctic Ocean and the oceanic atmosphere at the Arctic Research Observatory in the village of Tiksi. In 1969, he headed the North Pole-19 station, created on drifting ice, since 1971 he worked as the head of the Bellingshausen station, and since 1973 - the head of the North Pole-22 station. In 1985, he led an operation to rescue the expedition ship Mikhail Somov, which was covered in Antarctic ice. The icebreaker "Vladivostok" broke the ice around the diesel-electric ship and freed its crew from the blockade, which lasted as much as 133 days.

In 1987, Chilingarov led the team nuclear icebreaker"Siberia", which in free swimming reached the geographic North Pole. In January 2002, the traveler proved the possibility of operating light aircraft in Antarctica: he reached the South Pole on a single-engine An-ZT aircraft.

Photo: Roman Denisov/ITAR-TASS

In the summer of 2007, the famous polar explorer led an Arctic expedition aboard the ship Akademik Fedorov, which proved that the shelf of the Arctic Ocean is a continuation of the Siberian continental platform. The Mir-1 and Mir-2 vehicles were submerged to the bottom of the ocean, one of which was carrying Chilingarov himself. He also set a kind of record as the first person in the world to visit both the South and North Poles within six months.

Nikolai Litau (born 1955)

Photo: from the archive

Honored Master of Sports, Russian yachtsman, who made three round-the-world trips on the Apostol Andrey yacht built under his leadership. Awarded with the Order of Courage. During three round-the-world trips, Apostol Andrew left 110,000 nautical miles astern, visited all the continents of the planet, passed all the oceans and set five world records.

Here is what Nikolai Litau told a MIR 24 correspondent: “I made three round-the-world voyages on the Apostle Andrey. The first is around the Eastern Hemisphere through the Northern Sea Route, the second is around the Western Hemisphere, through the straits of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and the third is the Antarctic: in 2005-06, we rounded Antarctica, being all the time above 60 degrees of latitude, the invisible border of Antarctica. The latter has not yet been repeated by anyone. The fourth global voyage, in which I happened to take part, took place in 2012-13. It was international trip around the world, his route passed mainly through warm and comfortable tropical latitudes. I was the captain-mentor on the Russian yacht Royal Leopard and covered half the distance. During this voyage, I crossed my jubilee - the tenth equator. V last years we are engaged in memorial trips on the yacht "Apostol Andrey" in the Russian Arctic. We recall the names of outstanding Russian sailors: Vladimir Rusanov, Georgy Sedov, Boris Vilkitsky, Georgy Brusilov and others.”

Photo: from the archive

Exactly one year ago, Nikolai Litau traveled to the Arctic for the eleventh time on the yacht Apostol Andrey. The route of this journey passed through the White, Barents and Kara Seas, the islands of the Arctic Institute in the Kara Sea were explored. Ahead - new expeditions.

They are always attracted by the horizon line, an endless strip that goes into the distance. Their faithful friends are ribbons of roads leading to the unknown, mysterious and mysterious. They were the first to push the boundaries, opening up new lands to humanity and the amazing beauty of metrics. These people are the most famous travelers.

Travelers who made the most important discoveries

Christopher Columbus. He was a red-haired guy with a strong build and slightly above average height. From childhood he was smart, practical, very proud. He had a dream - to go on a journey and find a treasure of gold coins. And he made his dreams come true. He found a treasure - a huge mainland - America.

Three-quarters of Columbus' life was spent sailing. He traveled on Portuguese ships, managed to live in Lisbon and the British Isles. Stopping briefly in a foreign land, he constantly painted geographic Maps, made new travel plans.

It still remains a mystery how he managed to plan the shortest route from Europe to India. His calculations were based on the discoveries of the 15th century and on the fact that the Earth is spherical.

Having gathered 90 volunteers in 1492-1493, on three ships he set off on a journey through Atlantic Ocean. He became the discoverer of the central part of the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles. He owns the discovery of the northeast coast of Cuba.

The second expedition, which lasted from 1493 to 1496, already consisted of 17 ships and 2.5 thousand people. He discovered the islands of Dominica, the Lesser Antilles, the island of Puerto Rico. After 40 days of sailing, having arrived in Castile, he notified the government of the opening of a new route to Asia.

After 3 years, having collected 6 ships, he led an expedition across the Atlantic. In Haiti, because of the denunciation of the envious of his successes, Columbus was arrested and shackled. He received liberation, but he kept the chains all his life, as a symbol of betrayal.

He was the discoverer of America. Until the end of his life, he mistakenly believed that it was connected to Asia by a thin isthmus. He believed that it was he who opened the sea route to India, although history later showed the fallacy of his delusions.

Vasco da Gama. He was lucky to live in the era of the great geographical discoveries. Perhaps that is why he dreamed of traveling and dreamed of becoming a discoverer of uncharted lands.

He was a nobleman. The family was not the most noble, but had ancient roots. As a young man, he became interested in mathematics, navigation and astronomy. Since childhood, he hated secular society, playing the piano and French, which noble nobles tried to "shine".

Decisiveness and organizational skills made Vasco da Gama close to Emperor Charles VIII, who, having decided to create an expedition to open a sea route to India, appointed him the main one.

At his disposal were provided 4 new ships specially built for the voyage. Vasco da Gama was supplied with the latest navigational instruments and provided naval artillery.

A year later, the expedition reached the shores of India, stopping in the first city of Calicut (Kozhikode). Despite the cold meeting of the natives and even military clashes, the goal was achieved. Vasco da Gama became the discoverer of the sea route to India.

They discovered the mountainous and desert regions of Asia, made bold expeditions to Far North, they "wrote" history, glorifying the Russian land.

Great Russian travelers

Miklouho-Maclay was born into a noble family, but experienced poverty at the age of 11, when his father died. He has always been a rebel. At the age of 15, he was arrested for participating in a student demonstration and imprisoned for three days in the Peter and Paul Fortress. For participation in student unrest, he was expelled from the gymnasium with a further ban on admission to any higher institution. After leaving for Germany, he received his education there.

The famous naturalist Ernst Haeckel became interested in the 19-year-old guy, inviting him to his expedition to study marine fauna.

In 1869, having returned to St. Petersburg, he enlisted the support of the Russian Geographical Society and went to study New Guinea. It took a year to prepare the expedition. He sailed to the shore of the Coral Sea, and when he stepped on the ground he did not even guess that the descendants of this place would call his name.

After living for more than a year in New Guinea, he not only discovered new lands, but also taught the natives to grow corn, pumpkin, beans and fruit trees. He studied the life of the natives in Java, the Louisiades and the Solomon Islands. He spent 3 years in Australia.

He died at 42. Doctors diagnosed him with severe deterioration of the body.

Afanasy Nikitin is the first Russian traveler to visit India and Persia. Returning back, he visited Somalia, Turkey and Muscat. His notes "Journey Beyond Three Seas" have become valuable historical and literary aids. He simply and truthfully outlined medieval India in his notes.

A native of a peasant family proved that even a poor person can make a trip to India. The main thing is to set a goal.

The world has not revealed all its secrets to man. Until now, there are people who dream of opening the veil of unknown worlds.

Notable modern travelers

He is 60, but his soul is still full of thirst for new adventures. At the age of 58, he climbed to the top of Everest, conquered the 7 greatest peaks together with climbers. He is fearless, purposeful, open to the unknown. His name is Fedor Konyukhov.

And let the era of great discoveries be long behind us. It doesn't matter that the Earth has been photographed thousands of times from space. Let travelers and discoverers discover all the places of the globe. He, like a child, believes that there is still a lot of unknown things in the world.

He has 40 expeditions and ascents to his credit. He crossed the seas and oceans, was at the North and South Poles, made 4 round-the-world voyages, crossed the Atlantic 15 times. Of these, once on a rowboat. He made most of his travels alone.

Everyone knows his name. His programs had millions of viewers. He is the one great person who gave this world the unusual beauty of nature, hidden from view in the bottomless depths. Fedor Konyukhov visited different places on our planet, including the hottest place in Russia, which is located in Kalmykia. The site has Jacques-Yves Cousteau, perhaps the most famous traveler in the world

Even during the war, he continued his experiments and studies of the underwater world. He decided to devote the first film to sunken ships. And the Germans, who occupied France, allowed him to engage in research activities and filming.

He dreamed of a ship that would be equipped with modern technology for filming and observation. Helped him completely stranger who gave Cousteau a small military minesweeper. After repair work it turned into the famous ship "Calypso".

The crew of the ship were researchers: a journalist, a navigator, a geologist, a volcanologist. His assistant and companion was his wife. Later, 2 of his sons also took part in all expeditions.

Cousteau recognized the best specialist underwater research. He received an offer to head the famous Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. He not only studied underwater world, but also engaged in activities to protect the marine and oceanic habitats.
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Without the Russian pioneers, the map of the world would be completely different. Our compatriots - travelers and navigators - made discoveries that enriched world science. About the eight most notable - in our material.

Bellingshausen's first Antarctic expedition

In 1819, the navigator, captain of the 2nd rank, Thaddeus Bellingshausen led the first Antarctic expedition around the world. The purpose of the voyage was to explore the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as proof or refutation of the existence of the sixth continent - Antarctica. Having equipped two sloops - "Peace" and "Vostok" (under the command of Mikhail Lazarev), Bellingshausen's detachment went to sea.

The expedition lasted 751 days and wrote many bright pages in the history of geographical discoveries. The main one - the discovery of Antarctica - was made on January 28, 1820.

By the way, attempts to open the white mainland were made earlier, but did not bring the desired success: there was not enough luck, or maybe Russian perseverance.

So, the navigator James Cook, summing up his second circumnavigation, wrote: “I went around the ocean of the southern hemisphere in high latitudes and rejected the possibility of the existence of the mainland, which, if it can be found, is only near the pole in places inaccessible to navigation.”

During Bellingshausen's Antarctic expedition, more than 20 islands were discovered and mapped, sketches of Antarctic species and animals living on it were made, and the navigator himself went down in history as a great discoverer.

“The name of Bellingshausen can be directly put on a par with the names of Columbus and Magellan, with the names of those people who did not retreat before the difficulties and imaginary impossibilities created by their predecessors, with the names of people who went their own way, and therefore were the destroyers of barriers to discoveries, by which epochs are designated, ”wrote the German geographer August Petermann.

Discoveries of Semenov Tien-Shansky

Central Asia in early XIX century was one of the least explored areas of the globe. An undeniable contribution to the study of the "unknown land" - as they called Central Asia geographers - introduced by Peter Semenov.

In 1856, the main dream of the researcher came true - he went on an expedition to the Tien Shan.

“My work on Asian geography led me to a detailed acquaintance with everything that was known about inner Asia. In particular, the most central of the Asian mountain ranges, the Tien Shan, attracted me to itself, on which the foot of a European traveler had not yet set foot and which was known only from scarce Chinese sources.

Semenov's research in Central Asia lasted two years. During this time, the sources of the Chu, Syrdarya and Sary-Jaz rivers, the peaks of Khan-Tengri and others were put on the map.

The traveler established the location of the Tien Shan ranges, the height of the snow line in this area and discovered the huge Tien Shan glaciers.

In 1906, by decree of the emperor, for the merits of the discoverer, they began to add a prefix to his surname - Tien Shan.

Asia Przewalski

In the 70-80s. XIX century Nikolai Przhevalsky led four expeditions to Central Asia. This little-studied area has always attracted the researcher, and traveling to Central Asia was his old dream.

Over the years of research have been studied mountain systems Kun-Lun , the ranges of Northern Tibet, the sources of the Yellow River and the Yangtze, basins Kuku-burrow and Lob-burrow.

Przhevalsky was the second person after Marco Polo to reach lakes-bogs Lob-burrow!

In addition, the traveler discovered dozens of species of plants and animals that are named after him.

“Happy fate made it possible to make a feasible study of the least known and most inaccessible countries of inner Asia,” Nikolai Przhevalsky wrote in his diary.

Around the world Krusenstern

The names of Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky became known after the first Russian round-the-world expedition.

For three years, from 1803 to 1806. - this is how long the first circumnavigation of the world lasted - the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva", having passed through the Atlantic Ocean, rounded Cape Horn, and then reached Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin by the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The expedition refined the map of the Pacific Ocean, collected information about the nature and inhabitants of Kamchatka and the Kuriles.

During the voyage, Russian sailors crossed the equator for the first time. This event was celebrated, according to tradition, with the participation of Neptune.

A sailor dressed as the lord of the seas asked Kruzenshtern why he had come here with his ships, because earlier Russian flag not seen in these places. To which the expedition commander replied: "For the glory of science and our fatherland!"

Expedition of Nevelskoy

Admiral Gennady Nevelskoy is rightfully considered one of the outstanding navigators of the 19th century. In 1849, on the transport ship "Baikal", he went on an expedition to Far East.

The Amur expedition continued until 1855, during which time Nevelskoy made several major discoveries in the lower reaches of the Amur and the northern shores. Sea of ​​Japan, annexed vast expanses of the Amur and Primorye to Russia.

Thanks to the navigator, it became known that Sakhalin is an island, which is separated by the navigable Tatar Strait, and the mouth of the Amur is accessible for ships to enter from the sea.

In 1850, the Nikolaevsky post was founded by the Nevelsky detachment, which today is known as Nikolaevsk-on-Amur.

“The discoveries made by Nevelsky are invaluable for Russia,” wrote Count Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky , - many previous expeditions to these lands could achieve European fame, but not one of them achieved domestic benefit, at least to the extent that Nevelskoy did it.

North Vilkitsky

The purpose of the hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Ocean in 1910-1915. was the development of the Northern Sea Route. By chance, the captain of the 2nd rank Boris Vilkitsky assumed the duties of the head of navigation. The icebreaking ships Taimyr and Vaygach put to sea.

Vilkitsky moved along the northern waters from east to west, and during the voyage he managed to draw up a true description of the northern coast of Eastern Siberia and many islands, received key information about currents and climate, and also became the first who made a through voyage from Vladivostok to Arkhangelsk.

Members of the expedition discovered the Land of Emperor Nicholas II, known today as New Earth- this discovery is considered the last of the significant on the globe.

In addition, thanks to Vilkitsky, the islands of Maly Taimyr, Starokadomsky and Zhokhov were put on the map.

At the end of the expedition, the First World War began. The traveler Roald Amundsen, having learned about the success of Vilkitsky's voyage, could not resist exclaiming in his address:

“In peacetime, this expedition would stir up the whole world!”

Kamchatka campaign of Bering and Chirikov

The second quarter of the 18th century was rich in geographical discoveries. All of them were made during the First and Second Kamchatka expeditions, which immortalized the names of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov.

During the First Kamchatka campaign, Bering, the leader of the expedition, and his assistant Chirikov explored and mapped the Pacific coast of Kamchatka and Northeast Asia. They discovered two peninsulas - Kamchatsky and Ozerny, Kamchatsky Bay, Karaginsky Bay, Cross Bay, Providence Bay and St. Lawrence Island, as well as the strait, which today bears the name of Vitus Bering.

Companions - Bering and Chirikov - also led the Second Kamchatka Expedition. The purpose of the campaign was to find a way to North America and explore the islands of the Pacific.

In Avacha Bay, the expedition members founded the Petropavlovsk prison - in honor of the ships of the voyage "Saint Peter" and "Saint Pavel" - which was later renamed Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

When the ships set sail for the shores of America, by the will of evil fate, Bering and Chirikov began to act alone - because of the fog, their ships lost each other.

"Saint Peter" under the command of Bering reached the western coast of America.

And on the way back, the expedition members, who had many difficulties, were thrown by a storm onto a small island. Here the life of Vitus Bering ended, and the island on which the expedition members stopped for the winter was named after Bering.
"Saint Pavel" Chirikov also reached the shores of America, but for him the voyage ended more safely - on the way back he discovered a number of islands of the Aleutian ridge and safely returned to the Peter and Paul prison.

"Non-Yasak Lands" by Ivan Moskvitin

Little is known about the life of Ivan Moskvitin, but this man nevertheless went down in history, and the reason for this was the new lands he discovered.

In 1639, Moskvitin, leading a detachment of Cossacks, set sail for the Far East. The main goal of the travelers was to "find new unclaimed lands", to collect furs and fish. The Cossacks crossed the rivers Aldan, Maya and Yudoma, discovered the Dzhugdzhur ridge, which separates the rivers of the Lena basin from the rivers flowing into the sea, and along the Ulya river they entered the Lamskoye, or Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Having explored the coast, the Cossacks opened the Taui Bay and entered the Sakhalin Bay, rounding the Shantar Islands.

One of the Cossacks said that the rivers in the open lands “are sable, there are many animals, and fish, and the fish is big, there is no such thing in Siberia ... there are so many of them - just run a net and you can’t drag it out with fish ... ".