Ivan Antonovich Kupreianov
Encyclopedia
Ivan Antonovich Kupreyanov , also spelled in English as Kupreanof, was the head of the Russian-American Company
in Russian America from 1835 to 1840. He built the famous residence, library and museum in Sitka called Baranof's Castle by early American settlers, who assumed that it had been built by Alexandr Baranov
, Kupreyanov's predecessor by eighteen years. The residence was the site of the ceremony in which control
of Russian America was transferred from Russia to the United States in 1867. Although the residence fell down in 1897, the hill where is was located is still called Castle Hill.
Kupreyanov and his wife, Yuliya Ivanovna, began a school for native girls in Sitka. It was closed at the end of his administration but was reopened later.
in the Alexander Archipelago
(the Alaska Panhandle
) was named after him, and indirectly the city of Kupreanof, Alaska
, which is on that island.
Russian-American Company
The Russian-American Company was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the so-called Shelekhov-Golikov Company of Grigory Shelekhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov The Russian-American Company (officially: Under His Imperial Majesty's Highest Protection (patronage)...
in Russian America from 1835 to 1840. He built the famous residence, library and museum in Sitka called Baranof's Castle by early American settlers, who assumed that it had been built by Alexandr Baranov
Alexandr Baranov
Alexander Andreyevich Baranov , sometimes spelled Aleksander or Alexandr and Baranof, was born in 1746 in Kargopol, in St. Petersburg Governorate of the Russian Empire....
, Kupreyanov's predecessor by eighteen years. The residence was the site of the ceremony in which control
Alaska purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward, gained of new United States territory...
of Russian America was transferred from Russia to the United States in 1867. Although the residence fell down in 1897, the hill where is was located is still called Castle Hill.
Kupreyanov and his wife, Yuliya Ivanovna, began a school for native girls in Sitka. It was closed at the end of his administration but was reopened later.
Legacy
Kupreanof IslandKupreanof Island
Kupreanof Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska. The island is long and wide with a total land area is , making it the 13th largest island in the United States and the 170th largest island in the world. The Lindenberg Peninsula, on the southeast side of the...
in the Alexander Archipelago
Alexander Archipelago
The Alexander Archipelago is a long archipelago, or group of islands, of North America off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, which are the tops of the submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep channels and fjords separate the...
(the Alaska Panhandle
Alaska Panhandle
Southeast Alaska, sometimes referred to as the Alaska Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, which lies west of the northern half of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The majority of Southeast Alaska's area is part of the Tongass National Forest, the United...
) was named after him, and indirectly the city of Kupreanof, Alaska
Kupreanof, Alaska
Kupreanof is a city at the eastern shore of Kupreanof Island in the Petersburg Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 23 at the 2000 census, making it the smallest incorporated city in the state.-Geography:...
, which is on that island.