Stepan Osipovich Makarov (Russian: Степа́н О́сипович Мака́ров) (1848/1849 — March 31, 1904) was a famous Russian vice-admiral, a highly accomplished and decorated commander of the Russian Navy, and a distingushed oceanographer, awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences, an author of several books.
Stepan Makarov was born in Nikolaev, now Mykolayiv, Ukraine in a family of a fleet ensign (fleet praporshik, прапорщик флота, praporshchik flota).
He was highly decorated for his service as a captain of the Russian battleship Velikiy Knyaz Konstantin (named after the Grand Duke Konstantin of Russia) in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. He was one of the first adopters of the idea of torpedo boats and on January 16, 1877 he was first in the world to launch torpedoes from a boat (which itself was launched from a battleship) against a Turkish battleship.
He directed two round-the-world oceanographic expeditions on the corvette Vityaz (1886-1889 and 1894-1896).
He proposed the idea, oversaw the construction and commanded the world first icebreaker "Yermak" in two arctic expeditions in 1899 and 1901.
Made commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, Admiral Makarov was killed in action during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 on the battleship Petropavlovsk destroyed by a mine.
There are monuments to Makarov in his native Mykolayiv, Ukraine, and in Vladivostok, Russia. A number of ships were named Admiral Makarov.
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Last updated: 10-15-2005 14:46:31
