Vitus Jonassen Bering, also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Russian navigator and officer of the Russian Navy with the rank of captain-commander. He was of Danish origin and was born on August 12, 1681, in the Danish town of Horsens.

In 1703, Bering graduated from the Amsterdam Naval Cadet Corps, and by 1704, with sailing experience, he was invited to serve in the Russian Navy, where he joined the Baltic Fleet with the rank of ensign.

In 1725, Bering led the first Kamchatka expedition. According to Peter I's instructions, the expedition was to follow the coast of Kamchatka northward in boats to determine the existence of a strait between Asia and America. After passing through the strait, which was later named Bering Strait, to the latitude of 67°18′ and confirming that "the land does not extend further north," Bering concluded that a strait between Asia and America existed and turned back. On the return journey, the islands of Ratmanov and Kruzenshtern were discovered, and the southern tip of Kamchatka, Lopatka, was mapped.

In St. Petersburg, the results of the expedition were deemed unsatisfactory. In May 1732, the Senate issued a decree to commence the Great Northern Expedition, also known as the second Kamchatka expedition, which Bering was appointed to lead.

In June 1740, two packet boats with two masts, "Saint Peter" and "Saint Paul," were built and launched in Okhotsk. In September of the same year, both vessels set sail for Kamchatka and wintered in Avacha Bay. The harbor where the expedition wintered was named Petropavlovsk by Bering, and later the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was established there.

In June 1741, the packet boats left Petropavlovsk harbor. Bering commanded "Saint Peter," while Alexey Chirikov led "Saint Paul." Due to constant fogs, the ships soon lost each other.

Bering's ship, "Saint Peter," reached the coast of North America in July 1741 near Kayak Island. On the return journey, in November 1741, Bering's ship anchored at what is now known as the Commander Islands. During the wintering, part of the crew, including Vitus Bering himself, died from scurvy.

No lifetime images of Bering have survived. In the 1940s, his great-granddaughter donated a portrait to the Central Naval Museum, which had been kept in their family for a long time. This portrait came to be regarded as a reliable depiction of the captain-commander. The discovery of Bering's grave in 1991 allowed for his likeness to be reconstructed from his skull.

The remains of Bering and his companions were ceremonially reburied in Commander Bay in Kamchatka a year after their discovery.