Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev (1701-1771)

The leader of one of the northern detachments of the Great Northern Expedition. He was tasked with surveying the banks east of the mouth of the Lena River. In the autumn of 1741, the detachment traveled along the Bolshoy Anyuy River, across the Kolyma Range to Anadyr, using dogs and reindeer. The first map was compiled from the instrumental survey.