Joseph Billings (c.1758 – 1806) was an English navigator,hydrographer and explorer who spent the most of his career in Russian service. From 1790 to 1794 he commanded a marine expedition that searched for aNortheast Passage and explored the coasts of Alaska and Siberia. Between 1797 and 1798 he conducted a hydrographic survey of the Black Sea.
Sources provide conflicting details regarding the early life of Joseph Billings. British records show he was born in 1758 at Turnham Green, Middlesex. Parish church registers confirm his birth on 6 September 1758, the son of Thomas and Mary Billing. However, according to Russian sources, Billings told associates he was born inYarmouth, the son of a fisherman of the same name. He worked on coal ships from an early age and later was apprenticed to a watchmaker. His Russian service record, signed by him, indicates he was born in 1761.[1]
In 1776, Billings enlisted in the Royal Navy as an able seaman and joinedthe third and final voyage ofJames Cook. Billings became an astronomer's assistant, initially aboardHMS Discovery, and then transferring toHMS Resolution in September 1779. The expedition explored the North Pacific, visitingNootka Sound, Alaska, the Bering Sea, and theKamchatka Peninsula on the east coast of Russia. When they returned to England in October 1780, Billings was promoted to warrant officer.[2]
Following his return, Billings served aboard theConquestador and theCrocodile. In July 1782 he became master's mate on theResistance, serving CaptainJames King, who had also served on Cook's last voyage. Billings frequently accompanied King on visits toJoseph Banks, president of the Royal Society. He was imprisoned in 1782 for a debt and theResistance sailed to the West Indies without him. With Banks’ help, he was released from prison on 14 January 1783.[3]
In 1783 he applied through the Russian ambassadorIvan Matveevich Simolin to enter the Russian navy.[1]
In 1785, the Russian government ofCatherine the Great commissioned a new expedition in search for theNortheast Passage, led by Joseph Billings, the Russian officerGavril Sarychev as his deputy and Carl Heinrich Merck as the expedition's naturalist.Martin Sauer served as secretary and translator.[4] CaptainsRobert Hall [ru],Gavril Sarychev, and Christian Bering had leading roles. The expedition operated until 1794.[5]
Though considered a failure by some scholars because the expenditures outweighed the results, it nevertheless had a substantial record of achievement. Accuratemaps were made of theChukchi Peninsula in EasternSiberia, the west coast ofAlaska, and theAleutian Islands. Members of the expedition landed onKodiak Island and made an examination of the islands and mainlands ofPrince William Sound. Additionally, the expedition compiled a census of the native population of theAleutian Islands and reported to the crown stories of abuse by the Russian fur traders (promyshlenniki).[4]
After the expedition, Joseph Billings remained with theImperial Russian Navy. He was transferred to theBlack Sea Fleet at his request. From 1797 to 1798, he conducted a hydrographical survey of theBlack Sea. He subsequently published an atlas of this work. In November 1799, he retired and settled inMoscow.[1]
Billings died in Moscow on 18 June 1806, possibly at the age of 48 years.[6]
Cape Billings in theChukotka Autonomous Okrug was named after him.
Billings Glacier onPassage Peak in Alaska was named after him in 1908.[7]
