Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
Russian cartographer and explorer who discovered Antarctica.
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen was a Russian cartographer, explorer, and naval officer of Baltic German origin who reached the rank of admiral. He took part in Russia’s first voyage around the world and later commanded another circumnavigation that discovered Antarctica, overturning James Cook’s claim that no land could be found in the southern ice fields.
Born on the island of Saaremaa (Ösel) into the Bellingshausen family, he joined the Imperial Russian Navy as a cadet at age ten. After graduating from the Kronstadt naval academy at eighteen, he rose quickly to captain. A great admirer of Cook’s voyages, Bellingshausen served from 1803 to 1806 on the merchant ship *Nadezhda* under Adam Johann von Krusenstern during Russia’s first global circumnavigation. Following the journey, he published a collection of maps of newly explored Pacific islands and areas.
He then commanded various ships in the Baltic and Black Seas, including the frigates *Minerva* (1812–1816) and *Flora* (1817–1819). In 1812, while on Macquarie Island, he met Australian captain Richard Siddins of the *Campbell Macquarie*.
In 1819, Emperor Alexander I approved an expedition to the Southern Ocean to find land near the South Pole. Bellingshausen was chosen to lead it due to his experience and cartographic skill. Mikhail Lazarev prepared the two ships—the 985-ton sloop *Vostok* and the 530-ton *Mirny*—and served as Bellingshausen’s second-in-command, captaining *Mirny* while Bellingshausen commanded *Vostok*. The expedition left Kronstadt on 4 June 1819, stopped in England where Bellingshausen met Sir Joseph Banks (who had sailed with Cook), and departed Portsmouth on 5 September. They crossed the Antarctic Circle on 26 January 1820 (New Style), the first to do so since Cook. The next day, they sighted the Antarctic mainland near coordinates 69°21'28"S 2°14'50"W, within twenty miles of the coast. Bellingshausen’s diary and report, held in the Russian State Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, were later analyzed by British polar historian A. G. E. Jones, who concluded that Bellingshausen—not Edward Bransfield or Nathaniel Palmer—was the true discoverer of Antarctica.
Quick Facts
- Other Name
- Faddey Faddeyevich Bellingshausen; / Thaddeus Gottlieb Thaddevich von Bellingshausen
- Birth Date
- 20 September · 1778 · 9 September
- Birth Place
- Lahhentagge manor, Saaremaa, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
- Death Date
- 25 January · 1852 · 13 January (aged 73)
- Death Place
- Kronstadt, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
- Allegiance
- Russian Empire
- Service Years
- 1795–1852
- Rank
- Admiral
- Battles
- Russo-Turkish War / Siege of Varna
- Awards
- Order of Saint George 4th Class / Order of Saint Vladimir 3rd Class
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Bellingshausen was born into the Baltic German noble Bellingshausen family in Lahhetagge Manor, Ösel County, Governorate of Livonia. He enlisted as a cadet in the Imperial Russian Navy at age ten, graduated from the Kronstadt naval academy at eighteen, and rapidly rose to captain. He served on the Nadezhda under Adam Johann von Krusenstern during the first Russian circumnavigation (1803–1806), after which he published a collection of maps of newly explored Pacific areas and islands. He later commanded several ships in the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, including the frigates Minerva and Flora.
In 1819, Emperor Alexander I authorized an expedition to the Southern Ocean, and Bellingshausen was selected to lead it. He commanded the sloop Vostok, with Mikhail Lazarev as second-in-command and captain of the Mirny. The expedition left Kronstadt on 4 June 1819, stopped in England where Bellingshausen met Sir Joseph Banks, and crossed the Antarctic Circle on 26 January 1820. On 27 January 1820, they discovered the Antarctic mainland, seeing ice-fields at 69°21'28"S 2°14'50"W, within twenty miles of the continent. They circumnavigated Antarctica twice, never losing sight of each other, and discovered and named Peter I, Zavodovski, Leskov, Alexander, and Visokoi Islands, as well as the Antarctic Peninsula.
Upon returning to Kronstadt on 4 August 1821, Bellingshausen was made captain-commodore. He fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, was promoted to vice admiral in 1830, served as military governor of Kronstadt from 1839, and became admiral in 1843. In 1831, he published his book on the Antarctic voyage, Double Investigation of the Southern Polar Ocean and the Voyage Around the World. He died in Kronstadt in 1852.
Reader's Guide
Bellingshausen's significance lies in his role as the first explorer to sight the Antarctic mainland, a discovery that resolved a long-standing geographical question and disproved James Cook's assertion that no land existed in the southern ice-fields. His expedition, which circumnavigated Antarctica twice, provided the first reliable maps and observations of the region, including the naming of several islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. As a cartographer and naval officer, he contributed to Russian exploration and naval power, serving in the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets and later as military governor of Kronstadt. His legacy is preserved in numerous Antarctic features named after him, including the Bellingshausen Sea, Bellingshausen Island, and a Russian research station. The British polar historian A. G. E. Jones, in his 1982 study Antarctica Observed, concluded that Bellingshausen, rather than other claimants, was indeed the discoverer of Terra Australis.
Did You Know?
- Bellingshausen was born on the island of Saaremaa (Ösel) to the Bellingshausen family of Baltic German nobility.
- On 27 January 1820, Bellingshausen and Lazarev became the first explorers to see the land of Antarctica, approaching within twenty miles of the coast.
- He published a book on his Antarctic travels in 1831 titled Double Investigation of the Southern Polar Ocean and the Voyage Around the World.
More in Explorers Of The Americas And Pacific 1-24
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