GOLOVNIN, VASILY MIKHAILOVICH Russian vice-admiral, born on April 8 (new style April 20), 1776 in the province of Ryazan, received his education at the Cronstadt naval school and from 18o 1 to 18o6 served as a volunteer in the English navy. In 1807 he was commissioned by the Russian Gov ernment to survey the coasts of Kamchatka and of Russian Amer ica, including also the Kurile islands. Golovnin sailed round the Cape of Good Hope, and on Oct. 5, 1809, arrived in Kamchatka. In 181o, whilst attempting to survey the coast of the island of Kunashiri, he was seized by the Japanese, and was kept prisoner until Oct. 13, 1813. Golovnin was presently appointed to the com mand of a voyage of circumnavigation. He started from St. Petersburg on Sept. 7, 1817, sailed round Cape Horn, and arrived in Kamchatka in the following May. He returned to Europe by way of the Cape of Good Hope, landing at St. Petersburg on Sept. 17, 1819. He died on July 12, 1831. Golovnin's works include : Journey to Kamchatka (2 vols., 1819) ; Journey Round the World (2 vols., 1822); and Narrative of my Captivity in Japan, (2 vols., 1816). The last has been translated into French, German and English (1824).
A complete edition of his works was published at St. Petersburg in five volumes in 1864, with maps and charts, and a biography of the author by N. Grech.