Friedrich Benjamin Graf[1] von Lütke (Russian:Фёдор Петрович Литке,romanized: Fyodor Petrovich Litke; 28 September [O.S. 17 September] 1797 – 20 August [O.S. 8 August] 1882) was a Russiannavigator,geographer, andArctic explorer. He became acount in 1866, and anadmiral in 1855. He was a corresponding member (1829), honorable member (1855), and president (1864) of theRussian Academy of Science inSt. Petersburg. He was also an Honorable Member of many other Russian and foreign scientific establishments, and a corresponding member of theFrench Academy of Sciences inParis.
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Friedrich came from theLütke family(ru) ofBrandenburgish origin and originated inJüterbog. Count Lütke's grandfather was Johann Philipp von Lütke, a German Lutheran preacher and writer on physical science and theology. In 1745, Johann went from Germany to Moscow as pastor of a Lutheran parish in order to spread Lutheranism in theRussian Empire. As a youth, Friedrich attended a Lutheran German-speaking school. He remained a practicing Lutheran.[citation needed]
Lütke started his naval career in theImperial Russian Navy in 1813. He took part inVasily Golovnin'sworld cruise on the ship"Kamchatka" from 1817 to 1819, where one of his crewmates wasFerdinand Wrangel.[2] Then from 1821 to 1824, Lütke led theexpedition to explore the coastline ofNovaya Zemlya, theWhite Sea, and the eastern parts of theBarents Sea. From August 20, 1826, to August 25, 1829, he headed the world cruise on theSenyavin, sailing fromKronstadt and roundingCape Horn. At the beginning, he was accompanied fromCopenhagen and theBaltic Sea by Capt. Mikhail Nikolaievich Staniukovich who was in command of the sloopMöller. The scientific team includedHeinrich von Kittlitz (ornithologist),Karl Heinrich Mertens (botanist) andAlexander Postels (mineralogist).[3]
During this voyage he described the western coastline of theBering Sea, theBonin Islands offJapan, and theCarolines, although he discovered only one new island (Eauripik, the expedition is noted for having visited every inhabited island in theCaroline Islands (with the exception ofYap) and for compiling an extensive ethnographic account. In particular, the expedition spent three weeks in theNomoi Islands, which had been last visited byPedro Quiros in 1565. The team collected over 8000 plant, animal and mineral samples.[2]
In 1835, Lütke was appointed by TsarNicholas I of Russia as tutor of his second son,Grand Duke Constantine Nicholaievich of Russia. Lütke was the first one to come up with the idea of a recordingtide measurer (1839). They were built and installed along the coastlines of theArctic Ocean and thePacific Ocean in 1841. Lütke was one of the organizers of theRussian Geographical Society and its president in 1845–1850 and 1857–1872. He was appointedChairman of the Naval Scientific Committee in 1846. Lütke was acommander-in-chief and amilitary governor of the ports ofReval (today'sTallinn) and laterKronstadt in 1850–1857. In 1855, Litke became a member of theRussian State Council (Государственный совет in Russian; a legislative entity that predated theDuma, which came into existence only in 1906).[citation needed]
In 1873, the Russian Geographical Society introduced the Lütke gold medal. A cape, peninsula, mountain and bay in Novaya Zemlya, as well as a group of islands inFranz Josef Land,Baydaratskaya Bay, and theNordenskiöld Archipelago and astrait betweenKamchatka andKaraginsky Island, as well astwo Russian icebreakers were named after him.[citation needed]
Nereocystis luetkeana was named after him by Mertens (first asFucus luetkeanus) and then described byPostels andRuprecht.[4]
Ships named after Lütke include1909-built icebreaker,1970-built icebreaker, and 2017-builtYamalmaxLNG carrier.
During his voyage round the world on the RussiancorvetteSeniavin Lütke arrived atSitka in 1827. From there he sailed toUnalaska, surveying thePribilof Islands,St. Matthew Island and theCommander Islands, before arriving toPetropavlovsk, a harbor which he used as a base for further surveys along theSiberian coast all the way toSt. Lawrence Bay by theBering Strait.
After finally returning to Kronstadt Litke published a 3-volume account of his explorations with atlases in Russian and in French, the latter being published in Paris and entitledVoyage autour du monde, : exécuté par ordre de sa majesté l’empereur Nicolas Ier, sur la corvette Le Séniavine, dans les années 1826, 1827, 1828 et 1829, par Frédéric Lutké, ... commandant de l’expédition. Partie historique, avec un atlas, litographié d’après les dessins originaux d’Alexandre Postels et du baron Kittlitz. Traduit du russe sur le manuscrit original, sous les yeux de l’auteur, par le conseiller d’état F. Boyé. Tome I–III. Very few copies were printed and especially the Russian original work with its nautical part became an extremely rare item.
The nautical volume contains hydrographic and geographic details on the then little-known Bering Sea andAlaska obtained not only from Lütke's own work but also from various previously unpublished Russian sources. Even though there were errors and delays in the publication that didn't satisfy the author, Lütke's work is a valuable source of information on the evolution of geographic knowledge of Alaska and the Bering Sea. WhenW. H. Dall published an index for the book, Lütke's name was given as "Lutke", which reflects the spelling under which the book was published in Paris.[6]
Certain geographic features of the Alaskan coast, like theWalrus and Kritskoi Islands,Kudobin Islands and numerous other features in theAleutians, were named by Count Lütke in the maps that were subsequently published.The landhead now namedCape Lutke in Alaska was named after this Russian explorer by the ImperialRussian Hydrographic Service in 1847.[7] TheLitke Deep is named in his honour.
"Литке, Федор Петрович" .Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.
Media related toFyodor Petrovich Litke at Wikimedia Commons| Academic offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of theRussian Academy of Sciences 1864–1882 | Succeeded by |
