Vitus Bering

Vitus Jonassen Bering, also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Danish cartographer and explorer in Russian service, and an officer in the Russian Navy. He is known as a leader of two Russian expeditions, namely the First Kamchatka Expedition and the Great Northern Expedition, exploring the north-eastern coast of the Asian continent and from there the western coast on the North American continent. The Bering Strait, the Bering Sea, Bering Island, the Bering Glacier, and Vitus Lake were all named in his honor.

5 August 1681

Born on the same birth day (5 August): Christopher Chessun • Conrad Aiken • David Hungate • George Tooker • Jackie Doyle-Price • James Gunn • Mimi Keene • Oleh Luzhnyi • Oskar Merikanto • Sammi Smith