The New International Encyclopædia/Krusenstern, Adam Johann von

KRUSENSTERN, krōō'zen-stĕrn, (1770-1846). A distinguished Russian traveler, born at Haggud (Esthonia). After serving for some time in the British navy he was intrusted in 1803 by Emperor Alexander with the command of a scientific and commercial expedition to the North Pacific coasts of America and Asia. The chief object of this undertaking was the development of the fur trade with Russian America. In connection therewith the Government dispatched an embassy for the restoration of trade relations with Japan, in which purpose it was unsuccessful. The interesting geographical discoveries of Krusenstern made his voyage very important for the progress of geographical science. This voyage, in which he was the first Russian to circumnavigate the world, Krusenstern later described in his Journey Around the World (1810-12, with an atlas of 104 plates; English translation, 1813), which waa soon translated into all the principal languages of Europe. Krusenstern became an admiral in 1841. His further works include an Atlas de l'océan Pacifique (2 vols., 1824-27).