Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov
Ivan Alexandrowitsch Kuskow ( Russian Иван Александрович Кусков ; * 1765 in Totma , Vologda Governorate , † in October 1823 there ) was a Russian navigator, explorer of Alaska and Northern California and founder and regent of the first Russian settlement in California .
He spent a total of 31 years of his life traveling, exploring Alaska and the entire west coast of North America . Kuskow founded the Russian fortress Fort Ross in California in 1812 , today a US national park. Both Fort Ross and his hometown of Totma in Russia have Kuskov museums.
Kuskov traveled to America for the first time in 1790 after signing a contract with the merchant Alexander Andreevich Baranov from Kargopol (now Arkhangelsk Oblast ). Kuskow later became Baranov's right-hand man and headed the Russian-American Company as his deputy. The Russian government awarded Kuskow a medal in 1804. In 1806 he was given the title of Council of Commerce (in Russia at that time only five people had this high title). He died shortly after returning from America in 1823. His grave is in the Spasso-Sumorin (Heiland-Sumorin) monastery near Totma.
Web links
- Kuskow biography on a Russian website about America in the 19th century
- Kuskov's curriculum vitae based on contemporary Russian sources
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kuskov, Ivan Alexandrovich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Кусков, Иван Александрович (Russian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian navigator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1765 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Totma , Vologda Governorate |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 1823 |
| Place of death | Totma , Vologda Governorate |