- Grigory Shelikhov
Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov (Shelekhov) (Григорий Иванович Шелихов (Шелехов) in Russian; English spelling varies from Shelekov to Shelikof) (1747–
July 20 1795 (July 31 1795 N.S.)) was aRussia n seafarer andmerchant born inRylsk .Shelikhov organized commercial trips of the merchant ships to the
Kuril Islands and theAleutian Islands starting from 1775. In 1783–1786, he led the expedition to the shores ofRussian America , during which they founded first Russian settlements inNorth America (which Shelikhov supervised starting from 1790). Shelikhov was one of the founders of theRussian-American Company , which was officially registered in 1799.In 1784, Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov, who would later set up the Russian-Alaska Company that colonized early Alaska, arrived in
Three Saints Bay onKodiak Island with two ships, the "Three Saints" and the "St. Simon". [1] The indigenousKoniaga , anAlutiiq nation ofAlaska Natives , harassed the Russian party and Shelikhov responded by killing hundreds and taking hostages to enforce the obedience of the rest. Having established his authority on Kodiak Island, Shelikhov founded the second permanent Russian settlement in Alaska (afterUnalaska ) on the island's Three Saints Bay.In 1790, Shelikhov, back in Russia, hired Alexandr Baranov to manage his Alaskan fur enterprise.
A gulf in the
Sea of Okhotsk , a strait betweenAlaska andKodiak Island , and a town inIrkutsk Oblast inRussia bear Shelikhov's name. There is a statue of Shelikhov in his native Rylsk.ee also
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Daikokuya Kōdayū References
[1] 1. "Alaska History Timeline". Retrieved on August 31, 2005.
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