- Vasili Pronchishchev
Vasili Vasilyevich Pronchishchev ( _ru. Василий Васильевич Прончищев) (1702–OldStyleDate|9 September|1736|29 August) was a
Russia n explorer.In 1718, Vasili Pronchishchev graduated from
Moscow School of Mathematics and Navigation and was promoted to naval cadet. In 1733, he was promoted to the rank oflieutenant and appointed head of one of the units of theSecond Kamchatka Expedition , the purpose of which was to map the shores of theArctic Ocean from the mouth of theLena to the mouth of theYenisey .In 1735, Vasili Pronchishchev went down the Lena River (from
Yakutsk ) on hissloop "Yakutsk", doubled its delta, and stopped for wintering at the mouth of theOlenek River . Unfortunately many members of the crew fell ill and died, mainly owing toscurvy . Despite the difficulties, in 1736, he reached the eastern shore of theTaymyr Peninsula and went north along its coastline. Finally Pronchishchev and his wife Maria (also referred to as Tatyana Feodorovna) succumbed to scurvy and died on the way back.Despite the tragic death toll, the expedition was successful regarding the fulfillment of its goals. During his journey, Vasili Pronchishchev discovered a number of islands off the northeastern coast of the Taymyr Peninsula (
Faddey Islands ,Komsomolskoy Pravdy Islands ,Saint Peter Islands ). His expedition was the first to accurately map the Lena River from Yakutsk to its estuary and the Laptev seacoast from the Lena's mouth to the Gulf of Faddey. Pronchishchev's wife Maria Pronchishcheva (diedSeptember 12 (23), 1736), who took part in his expedition, is considered as the first female polar explorer. After their deaths, both of them were interred at the mouth of the Olenek River.A part of the eastern coastline of the Taymyr Peninsula and a ridge between the mouths of the Olenek and
Anabar River s bear Vasili Pronchishchev's name. Icebreaker "Vasili Pronchishchev", built in 1961 in Leningrad, was also named after this pioneering Arctic explorer.Maria Pronchishcheva Bay in theLaptev Sea is named after his wife Maria.References
* [http://www.vor.ru/Events/program9.html Historical data]
* Excavations at the burial site of the couple: [http://www.shparo.com/proncheshev/proncheshev_overview.htm]
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