Career
The Billings Expedition
In 1785, the Russian government of Catherine the Great commissioned a new expedition in search for the Northeast Passage, led by English officer Joseph Billings, who had previously sailed with Captain Cook, and the Russian officer Gavril Sarychev as his deputy and Carl Heinrich Merck as the expedition"s naturalist. This enterprise operated till 1795. Accurate maps were made of the Chukchi Peninsula in Eastern Siberia, the west coast of Alaska, and the Aleutian Islands.
Additionally, the expedition compiled a census of the native population of the Aleutian Islands and reported to the crown stories of abuse by the Russian fur traders (promyshlenniki).
End of life
After the Expedition, Joseph Billings remained with the Imperial Russian Navy, before retiring in 1797 and settling in Moscow. Billings died in Moscow on June 18, 1826 at the age of 45 years.
Cape Billings in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug was named after him.