Kotzebue, Otto von [key], 1787–1846, Russian naval officer and explorer; son of A. F. F. von Kotzebue. He accompanied A. J. von Krusenstern on his circumnavigation (1803–6) and himself commanded two voyages around the world (1815–18, 1823–26). He discovered some 400 islands in the South Seas, checked the location of others, and gathered new information on the Pacific coast of Siberia. He sailed N through Bering Strait, explored the northwest coast of Alaska hoping to find a Northwest Passage, and in 1816 discovered and explored Kotzebue Sound. Scientists accompanying his expeditions made valuable reports on ethnography and natural history. Kotzebue's own narratives were translated into English as A Voyage of Discovery (3 vol., 1821) and A New Voyage round the World (2 vol., 1830, repr. 1967).
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