Rezanov, Nikolai Petrovich

Rezanov, Nikolai Petrovich (nyikulī' pētrô'vîch ryezä'nuf) [key], 1764–1807, Russian trader, an official of the Russian American Company. He headed an expedition to Alaska in 1803. There he found (1805) the settlement at Sitka in desperate need of food and decided to go to California to obtain supplies. He reached (1806) what is today San Francisco and succeeded in his mission partly because of a romantic attachment to Doña Concepción, daughter of the commandant, José Darío Argüello. He took the supplies to Sitka but died on his return trip to Russia.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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