Vasily Golovnin
Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (
Early life and career
Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin was born in April 1776, in the village of Gulyniki in
Golovnin entered active service as a midshipman in May and June 1790, participating in several naval battles against the Swedes.[6] He served in several foreign campaigns between 1793 and 1798. From 1798 to 1800 he served as adjutant and interpreter to Vice Admiral M. K. Makarov, commander of a Russian squadron operating jointly with the British fleet in the North Sea.[7]
On the orders of Tsar
Diana's voyage
Golovnin was given command of the sloop Diana in 1806, and made his first voyage around the world (1807—1809), with the object of conducting a survey of the northern Pacific, and transporting supplies to Okhotsk.[9][10]
Diana set sail from
In 1819, he published an account of their voyage, detention and escape, titled Journey of the Russian Emperor’s sloop Diana from Kronstadt to Kamchatka.[5]
Captivity in Japan
In 1811, Golovnin described and mapped the
While exploringGolovnin was released in 1813, returned to Russia, and published an account of his years in captivity.[12] His book, Captivity in Japan During the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, became an instant classic.[12] It was hailed in Russia as an authoritative volume on Japanese culture, and helped shape an entire generation's view of Japan.[12] Golovnin clearly respected the Japanese, portraying them "as intelligent, as patriotic, and as worthy rivals" of the Russians in the Pacific.[12] His representation of Japanese religious practices also became influential in Europe; he claimed that the Japanese practiced a form of Hinduism or Indian religion but a minority followed a distant, indigenous form of Christianity, influencing later scholars' claims about Japanese religion well into the 19th century.[13] The captivity of Golovnin almost led to war between Russia and Japan in what became known as the Golovnin Incident.
Around the world on the Kamchatka
On 7 September 1817, Golovnin set out on a second voyage around the world aboard the frigate Kamchatka.
He arrived in Kamchatka the following May, then returned to Europe via the Cape of Good Hope, completing his circumnavigation by landing at St Petersburg on 17 September 1819.[14] After the journey, Golovnin published Around the World on the Kamchatka, describing his voyage, and his encounters with the native Kodiak and Sandwich Islanders.[2][3] Though the journey had "achieved little in the way of new discoveries," Golovnin returned with "a vast store of scientific and astronomical information" to share with Russian scientists.[3]
In the book The Lost Pianos of Siberia by Sophy Roberts, it is mentioned that Golovnin was "busted" out of his Japanese captivity by Pyotr Rikord, the newly appointed chief of Kamchatka. As a "thank you" Golovnin rewarded Rikord's wife Lyudmila, a keen pianist, with a piano shipped all the way from St Petersburg, which took eight months and eight days to deliver.[15]
Later career and death
In 1821, Golovnin was appointed assistant director of the Russian Naval College, and later, in 1823, General Quartermaster of the Fleet.[4] A talented administrator, Golovnin successfully managed the activities of the shipbuilding, commissariat, and artillery departments.[4] Under his supervision, over two hundred ships were built, including the first Russian steamships.[2] Golovnin also served as a mentor to numerous Russian navigators, including the aforementioned Fyodor Litke and Ferdinand von Wrangel.[2]
Golovnin died of cholera during an epidemic that swept through the city of Saint Petersburg in 1831.[2][4][16]
Legacy and honors
Golovnin was awarded many honors during his life, including the
The village of
Family
Golovnin married the daughter of a Tver landowner and retired army officer, Evdokiya Stepanovna Lutkovskaya (1795–1884). All four of Evdokiya's brothers served in the Russian Navy; two of them, Peter and Feopemt Lutkovsky, became Admirals, and rose to great prominence.[2][17]
Admiral Feopemt Lutkovsky (1803–1852) served under Golovnin during his voyage aboard the Kamchatka (1817–1819). Evdokiya's sister Ekaterina also married a naval officer, Rear Admiral Maksim Maksimovich Genning.
Golovnin's son, Alexander Vasilyevich Golovnin (1821–1886), initially followed in his father's footsteps, serving in the Russian Navy.[4] A close friend and associate of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, Alexander retired from the Navy, and served as Minister of Education (1861–1866) under Tsar Alexander II.[4][18][19] In addition to his work as a naval officer and bureaucrat, Alexander served as director of the journal Morskoi Sbornik, and was actively involved in the Zemstvo.[4] It was Alexander who preserved, collected, and eventually published his father's works under the title Works and Translations (Sochineniia i Perevody).[4]
Further reading
- Golovnin, Vasily. (2020). Captive in Japan. TOYO Press. ISBN 978-949-2722-256
Fiction
- Vasily Golovnin makes an appearance in Patrick O'Brian's novel The Mauritius Command (1977).
See also
References
- ^ Lévesque, Rodrigue (2001). History of Micronesia: Russian expeditions, 1808-1827 p.495 Quebec: Levesque
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Vasilli Golovnin, Ella Lury Wiswell, trans. (1979). Around the world on the Kamchatka, 1817-1819, p xx-xxii, xxvi Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Soc.
- ^ a b c Dunmore, John (1991). Who's who in Pacific navigation, p. 118 Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kenneth N. Owens, Timofeĭ Tarakanov, Ben Hobucket (2001). The Wreck of Sv. Nikolai, pp. 5, 11-14, 92 Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Vasilii Golovnin, Lisa Millner, trans. (1964). Detained in Simon's Bay, p 3. Cape Town : Friends of the South African Library
- ^ a b c d V N Berkh, V M Golovnin, Alaska Historical Society, Sitka Historical Society, Alaska Historical Commission. (1979). The Wreck of the Neva, p. 60, Anchorage: Alaska Historical Society
- ^ a b c Kodansha. (1983). Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan, Volume 3, p. 43-44, New York & Tokyo: Kodansha
- ^ a b Robin Fisher, Hugh J. M. Johnston (1979). Captain James Cook and His Times, p. 124. Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre
- ^ a b c d e f Cynthia H. Whittaker, E. Kasinec, Robert H. Davis (2003). Russia Engages the World, 1453-1825, p. 113 Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press
- ^ Stephan, John J. (1994). The Russian Far East p. 37 Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press
- ^ Erickson, David. "Simon's Town Ceremony to Commemorate Escape of the Diana." Ports and Ships Maritime News", 27 May 2009. Accessed 28 January 2010. http://ports.co.za/news/article_2009_05_27_1909.html
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rimer, J. Thomas (1995). A Hidden Fire: Russian and Japanese Cultural Encounters, 1868-1926, p.3 Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press
- ISBN 9780226412351.
- ^ a b public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Golovnin, Vasily Mikhailovich". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 226. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ISBN 9781784162849.
- ^ Novikov, Nikolai (1945). Russian Voyages Around the World, p. 98. New York: Hutchinson
- ^ a b Aleksandr Ivanovich Alekseev, Katherine L. Arndt, Trans. (1996) Fedor Petrovich Litke, p. 152 Anchorage: University of Alaska Press
- ^ Radzinsky, Edvard. (2006). Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar p. 138 New York: Free Press
- ^ James P. Duffy, Vincent L. Ricci. (2002). Czars: Russia's Rulers For Over One Thousand Years p. 314 New York: Barnes & Nobles Books
Sources
External links
- Media related to Vasily Golovnin at Wikimedia Commons
- Map showing route of Diana voyage