Semyon Dezhnev

Born in Veliky Ustyug, Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev was a Cossack and explorer who spent much of his life traversing the vast, frozen expanses of Siberia. His exploits included tax collection (which, let's be honest, is a form of exploration for trouble), trading, and, most notably, charting previously unknown territories. He wasn't exactly charting them with a compass and protractor, but rather with sheer grit and an astonishing tolerance for frostbite.

In 1648, Dezhnev and his crew navigated a strait separating Chukotka from Alaska, a full 80 years before Vitus Bering decided to