Gavril Sarychev

Gavril (also Gavriil) Andreyevich Sarychev (Гавриил Андреевич Сарычев) (1763 — August 11 (O.S. July 30), 1831), spelt "Sarichef" in the United States, was a Russian navigator, hydrographer, admiral (1829) and Honorable Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1809) in Saint Petersburg.

Sarychev started his career in the Imperial Russian Navy in 1775. From 1785—1794, he took part in the expedition sponsored by Empress Catherine II and led by Royal Navy officer Joseph Billings. Sarychev, on ship Slava Rossii (Glory of Russia), described and mapped the coastline of the Sea of Okhotsk from Okhotsk to Aldoma, many of the Aleutian Islands (especially Unalaska). He also described the islands of Pribylov, St. Matthew Island, St. Lawrence Island, Gvozdev, and King Island.

In 1802—1806, Sarychev led the Baltic hydrographic expedition. He was also in charge of hydrographic research in Russia since 1808 and led the compilation of the Atlas of the Northern Part of the Pacific Ocean in 1826.

Cape Sarichef, Sarychev Peak, Sarichef Strait and Sarichef Island in Alaska were named by explorer Lt. Otto von Kotzebue after Gavril Sarychev, who was then in charge of the Russian Imperial Hydrographic Service.

The Soviet ship Gavril Sarychev was named after the explorer. The Gavril Sarychev took part in the search for Korean Air Lines Flight 007 which was downed by a Soviet Su-15 interceptor just west of Sakhalin Island on Sept. 1. 1983.

Works

 * Atlas Svernoy chastii Vostochnogo Okeana... (Atlas of the Northern Part of the Pacific Ocean). Compiled in Sheets by the Imperial Navy Department from Latest Reports and Maps, 1826, under the Direction of Vice-Admiral and Hydrographer Sarychev). St. Petersburg, 1826.