Otto von Kotzebue was born on 30th December 1787 in Reval, now in Tallinn, Estonia, and he died on 15th February 1846 (aged 58 years) in Tallinn, Estonia. A Russian naval officer who circumnavigated the Earth three times, Otto charted much of the Alaskan coast and commanded an expedition to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean and explore the lesser known parts of Oceania. During this voyage he discovered the Romanzov Islands, Rurik Islands and Krusenstern Islands which he discovered in the remote Chukchi Sea. In his second expedition, with a staff of scientists he collected valuable information in geography, ethnography and natural history.
Do you know: Otto was the son of a famous German dramatist August von Kotzebue who was suspected of being an agent of Czar Alexander I.
