Vitus Bering was an intelligent, adventurous, and ambitious man. Most people knew him for his efforts in the Great Northern Expedition. He boldly joined the Russian Navy in 1703, serving in the Baltic Fleet. From 1710-1712 he served in the Azov sea fleet. He later gave up his navy life to be an explorer.

Vitus Bering was born in August 1681, in Denmark, in the town of Horsens. The last trip he ever took to his hometown was in 1715. He married a Russian woman and they had at least five children together. Along with his wife and children, Bering began a series of explorations to the north coast of Asia.

During his first voyage he went to the east indies. Peter the Great then sponsored his trip to Kamchatka. Vitus Bering was chosen to lead a voyage to Okhotsk.

In 1725, he went on a long journey to Siberia. Five of his children died on this trip. In the year of 1740, he established a settlement in Kamchatka. Then he started on a long expedition to North America. He had two ships in his command, but a harsh storm came and separated them. But Bering spotted land (now Alaska) and made shore. This was a great moment in Russian exploration.

On his journey back to Russia, Bering discovered the Aleutian islands. On December 19, 1741 Vitus Bering died here of scurvy along with 28 of his men. They named the island after him. Bering`s work was not fully appreciated by people until Captain Cook proved that Bering was a great explorer. Now Vitus Bering has a strait, a sea, an island, and a land bridge named after him.