Born August 12, 1681, Horsens, Denmark
Died December 8, 1741, Bering Island. Russia

In 1725 Russian czar Peter the Great commissioned Danish navigator Vitus Bering to explore Siberia’s Pacific Coast. During that time the Russian Empire was rapidly expanding east, and it was not yet known whether eastern Siberia and northwestern North America were connected. (Russia was also interested in opening an Arctic trade route to the Orient.) In the previous century cossack (Russian frontiersman) and sailor Semyon Ivanov Dezhnev had reported that the two continents were separated by a small strait, but his findings were unconfirmed. During Bering’s two extensive expeditions into eastern Siberia and the northern Pacific Ocean, he proved without question that the two landmasses were separate. His many geographical discoveries in the area, including Alaska, introduced Russia to a region rich in furs of all kinds. This led to the Russian Empire&rsquo...