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Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (Russian language: Василий Михайлович Головнин; , Gulyniki, Ryazan Oblast – , Saint Petersburg) was a Russian navigator, Vice Admiral, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1818).Lévesque, Rodrigue (2001). History of Micronesia: Russian expeditions, 1808-1827 p.495 Quebec: LevesqueVasilli Golovnin, Ella Lury Wiswell, trans. (1979). Around the world on the Kamchatka, 1817-1819, p xx-xxii, xxvi Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Soc.Dunmore, John (1991). Who's who in Pacific navigation, p. 118 Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press
Golovnin entered active service as a midshipman in May and June 1790, participating in several naval battles against the Sweden.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 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.Kodansha. (1983). Kodansha encyclopedia of Japan, Volume 3, p. 43-44, New York & Tokyo: Kodansha
On the orders of Tsar Alexander I, Golovnin was sent, along with several other Russian officers, to obtain further training aboard British ships.Robin Fisher, Hugh J. M. Johnston (1979). Captain James Cook and His Times, p. 124. Vancouver, BC: Douglas & McIntyre He served three years (1802–1805) with the British fleet under Admirals Horatio Nelson, Collingwood, and Cornwallis. During this period, war was once again declared between the British and French, and Golovnin saw action while serving under Admiral Nelson.Cynthia H. Whittaker, E. Kasinec, Robert H. Davis (2003). Russia Engages the World, 1453-1825, p. 113 Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press He returned to Russia in 1806, and began compiling a code of naval signals on the English pattern, which remained in use by the Russian fleet for more than twenty years.
Diana set sail from Kronstadt on 7 July 1807. A severe storm in April 1808 prevented Diana from sailing around Cape Horn, and Golovnin decided to set sail for the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, to restock the ship's supplies. He anchored in the nearby port of Simon's Town on 3 May 1808. Golovnin, having been at sea for ten months, was unaware that Russian relations with Britain had deteriorated, and Russia had allied herself with the French. Diana was immediately detained as an enemy vessel by a British naval squadron, pending receipt of appropriate instructions from London. Golovnin and his crew spent more than a year detained aboard Diana at Simon's Town awaiting a decision from British authorities. When it became increasingly clear that a decision might never come, Golovnin began to plot their escape. On 28 May 1809, perfect conditions presented themselves - a fair wind and poor visibility. The crew severed the anchor cables, and managed successfully to sail out of the bay, passing directly in front of several British warships.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 Once the British discovered that they had escaped, they set off in pursuit, but failed to overtake Diana, which sailed safely to Kamchatka in 1810, and news of Dianas "audacious escape" quickly spread throughout the world. Golovnin left Kamchatka in 1810, sailing to Baranof Island, a recently settled outpost of the Russian-American Company.
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.
Golovnin was released in 1813, returned to Russia, and published an account of his years in captivity. His book, Captivity in Japan During the Years 1811, 1812, 1813, became an instant classic. It was hailed in Russia as an authoritative volume on Japanese culture, and helped shape an entire generation's view of Japan. Golovnin clearly respected the Japanese, portraying them "as intelligent, as patriotic, and as worthy rivals" of the Russians in the Pacific. 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. The captivity of Golovnin almost led to war between Russia and Japan in what became known as the Golovnin Incident.
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. After the journey, Golovnin published Around the World on the Kamchatka, describing his voyage, and his encounters with the native Kodiak and Native Hawaiians. 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.
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.
Golovnin died of cholera during an epidemic that swept through the city of Saint Petersburg in 1831.Novikov, Nikolai (1945). Russian Voyages Around the World, p. 98. New York: Hutchinson
The village of Golovin, Alaska, Cape Golovnin, as well as Golovnin Bay and Golovnin Lagoon, are all named in honor of Vasily Golovnin. A strait between two of the Kuril Islands, Golovnin volcano on Kunashir Island, capes on Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, are among other landmarks bearing his name. The cape of Point Hope in Alaska was also originally named in Golovnin's honor.
Admiral Feopemt Lutkovsky (1803–1852) served under Golovnin during his voyage aboard the Kamchatka (1817–1819). Feopemt was described as "free thinking", and according to testimony given by individuals involved in the Decembrist Uprising, he was in close communication with several members of their society. He avoided prosecution for treason due to the intervention of Fyodor Litke. 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. 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.Radzinsky, Edvard. (2006). Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar p. 138 New York: Free PressJames P. Duffy, Vincent L. Ricci. (2002). Czars: Russia's Rulers For Over One Thousand Years p. 314 New York: Barnes & Nobles Books 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. It was Alexander who preserved, collected, and eventually published his father's works under the title Works and Translations ( Sochineniia i Perevody).
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Map showing route of Diana voyage
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