Vitus Bering
In 1639 a group of Russian promyshlenniki (hunter-traders) sailed from Russia into the Pacific ocean, They were the first Europeans to sailed between Asia and North America. Peter the great, Czar of Russia, wanted to send an expedition to confirm the information. In 1724 he sent the first Kamchatka expedition (1725-30) led by Bering. One of their tasks was to see if Siberia was connected to North America. They sailed first to the Kamchatka Peninsula where a ship was built for the exploration. In 1728 Bering sailed north far enough to discover that Siberia and North America (Alaska) were not connected.