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Antarctic Exploration:
Fabian von
Bellingshausen
Fabian von
Bellingshausen
was a captain in the Russian Imperial Navy. In 1819 he set off
for the Antarctic with two ships, the Vostok and the Mirnyi,
following the route of James Cook, a man he admired greatly .
He followed Cook's own charts as he circumnaviged (sailed right
round) Antarctica. 
Unlike
Cook however, he did see land. In January 1820 he became the first
person to see the Antarctic continent describing it as`an icefield
covered with small hillocks'.
Moonrise over Antarctic ice sheet
However, when von Bellingshausen returned home to Russia, this great achievement was hardly recognised. It was 10 years before his work was even published, and another 120 years before it was properly appreciated. When soviet whaling ships started visiting the Antarctic, and the Soviet Union, as Russia was then known, wanted to establish claims in the Southern Ocean.
If you use any part of
this, acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Antarctica
(2001).
[Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
Updated June 2002