Discovery of St. George Island
- When
- 1786
- Where
- St. George Island
- Episodes
- 1
On June 25, 1786, Russian navigator Gavriil Pribylov discovered St. George Island in the Pribilof Islands while searching for northern fur seal breeding grounds. The island was the first of the group to be found, and the surrounding islets now bear his name.
Episodes
Background and detail
Discovery Context. Gavriil Pribylov, a Russian navigator and commander of the Russian American Company ship St. George, was searching for the breeding grounds of northern fur seals. He located St. George Island on June 25, 1786, following the sounds of barking seals.
Naming and Status. St. George Island was the first of the Pribilof Islands to be discovered. The islands and surrounding islets now bear Pribylov's name. Although he is credited with the discovery, he was directed to the approximate location by the son of an Aleut chief.
People involved
- Gavriil Pribylov · Russian navigator and discoverer
Sources
- St. George, Alaska Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-14
- Gavriil Pribylov Wikipedia, revision of 2025-10-04
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.