# Vitus Bering

_Danish-born Russian explorer (1681-1741)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/vitus-bering
Last updated: 2026-10-07

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

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 5 August 1681 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Horsens ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641#P19))
- **Died:** 8 December 1741 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641#P570))
- **Place of death:** Bering Island ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Kingdom of Denmark; Russian Empire ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641#P27))
- **Occupation:** explorer; hydrographer; naval officer; seafarer; discoverer ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641#P106))
- **Spouse:** Anna Bering ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641#P26))

## Questions

**When was Vitus Bering born?**  
Vitus Bering was born on 5 August 1681 in Horsens.

## Related

- [Abel Tasman](https://diginpl.com/people/abel-tasman)
- [Alexander von Humboldt](https://diginpl.com/people/alexander-von-humboldt)
- [Alexei Leonov](https://diginpl.com/people/alexei-leonov)
- [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://diginpl.com/people/alfred-russel-wallace)
- [Alfred Wegener](https://diginpl.com/people/alfred-wegener)
- [Amerigo Vespucci](https://diginpl.com/people/amerigo-vespucci)
- [Arthur C. Clarke](https://diginpl.com/people/arthur-c-clarke)
- [Christopher Columbus](https://diginpl.com/people/christopher-columbus)
- [David Livingstone](https://diginpl.com/people/david-livingstone)
- [Ernst Haeckel](https://diginpl.com/people/ernst-haeckel)
- [Ferdinand Magellan](https://diginpl.com/people/ferdinand-magellan)
- [Francis Xavier](https://diginpl.com/people/francis-xavier)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Vitus Bering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitus_Bering) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q127641](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q127641) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Vitus Bering reconstruction.jpg by Институт Археологии РАН (Institute of Archaeology in Russian Academy of Sciences ) (CC BY-SA 4.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vitus_Bering_reconstruction.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Vitus Bering, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Vitus Bering reconstruction.jpg — Институт Археологии РАН (Institute of Archaeology in Russian Academy of Sciences ), CC BY-SA 4.0.

## Cite this page

"Vitus Bering". DigiNepal. Last updated 7 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/vitus-bering. Retrieved 15 November 2026.