Semyon Yakovlevich Unkovsky (1788, 1882) was a close friend and associate of Admiral M. P. Lazarev, under whose command he participated in the fourth Russian round-the-world voyage on the sloop 'Suvorov' in 1813 and 1816. He was also the father of Ivan Semyonovich Unkovsky.

Unkovsky came from the nobility of Novgorod Province and was born on March 12 (23), 1788, in the village of Abaturovo, Tikhvin District. He graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps and was sent as a midshipman to serve in the British Navy, where he participated in several naval battles. In 1806, while on a Spanish prize ship, he was captured by the French, but after the Treaty of Tilsit in 1808, he returned home and was promoted to midshipman. In 1809, he participated in a battle against the Swedes, and in 1812 and 1813, as a lieutenant, he sailed to England again.

In 1813 and 1816, Unkovsky, along with M. P. Lazarev, made a round-the-world voyage on the sloop 'Suvorov' of the Russian-American Company. For his participation in 18 naval campaigns, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class, on December 12, 1817.

In 1818, Unkovsky retired with the rank of captain-lieutenant. By the will of March 7, 1817, he inherited the estate of Kolyshovo in Kaluga Province, which became the ancestral home of the Unkovskys. After marrying Varvara Alexeyevna Belkina on July 6, 1817, he settled in this estate and wrote memoirs about his round-the-world voyage.

However, the needs of a large family forced him to return to service in 1824, but in a civilian capacity. He first became an official for special assignments under the governor, then from 1832, the director of schools in Kaluga Province, and from 1833, the director of the Kaluga Nikolayev Male Gymnasium.

Unkovsky was the director of the Moscow Noble Institute from 1834, an honorary trustee of the Kaluga Gymnasium in 1842 and 1851, and also the Kaluga provincial leader of the nobility in 1854 and 1856. For his contributions to public education, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class, with an imperial crown.

In 1860, with Unkovsky's funds, the church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God in his village of Kozlovo, near Kaluga, was renovated. He died on November 24 (December 6), 1882, in his home in Kaluga. His body was buried in the St. Lawrence Monastery, and a battalion of the 5th Kiev Grenadier Regiment participated in the funeral procession, paying military honors to the Knight of St. George.

In 1887, V. Istomin wrote about him in the journal 'Russian Archive', noting his outstanding intellectual abilities and moral qualities. Unkovsky was a talented educator and had a beneficial influence on the educational institution, but soon retired due to disagreements with the trustee of the educational district.