James Trevenen
James Trevenen (1 January 1760 – 9 July 1790) was an officer in the Royal Navy and the Imperial Russian Navy.
James Trevenen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 January 1760 Rosewarne, Camborne, Cornwall |
| Died | 9 August 1790 (aged 30) Kronstadt, Russian Empire |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Great Britain Russian Empire |
| Service/ | Royal Navy Imperial Russian Navy |
| Years of service | 1776 – 1787 (Royal Navy) 1787 – 1790 (Imperial Russian Navy) |
| Rank | Lieutenant (Royal Navy) Captain (Imperial Russian Navy) |
| Commands held | Rodislav |
| Battles/wars |
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Born in Cornwall "of a very respectable family", he was educated at the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth and went to sea in 1776 as a midshipman on the Resolution under Captain James Cook, where he assisted Cook as a surveyor and navigator. On completing the voyage in 1780 he was promoted to lieutenant by the Earl of Sandwich, and joined HMS Conquestador. In April 1781 he sailed under James King, whom he had served with in Resolution, until the end of the war in 1783.
Unhappy with peacetime life, Trevenen attempted to get employment from the Admiralty in 1787, but was unsuccessful. As a result, he drew up a plan for a voyage of exploration, seeking to establish a sailing route between Kamchatka and Japan and northern China. This plan was put before Catherine II of Russia, who took a strong interest in it, and promptly sent an officer to England to bring Trevenen to Russia and invite him to execute the plan. This proposed expedition is sometimes called the Mulovsky expedition.