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 Fedor Lütke (1828)
Fedor Lütke, the Russian captain of the Senyavin, came upon
Pohnpei in 1828, while doing a scientific survey of the
Pacific. He claimed to be the first to discover the
island, clearly unaware of de
Quirós' visit 233 years earlier. Lütke is
given credit for first charting Pohnpei and its satellite
atolls, Ahnd (Ant) and Pakin, which he named after his
ship. The trio are referred to as the Senyavin
Islands to this day. Lütke recorded a  population
estimate of two thousand, which is dubious because he never
actually landed. Pohnpeian canoes paddled out toward the
ship, which Lütke took to be hostile. He
retreated and dubbed Kolonia's inlet "The Harbor of
Bad Reception."
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It seems he must have had some
contact with the Pohnpeians, however, before moving off,
because he recorded the name of the island as "Pouynipeti"--certainly
a corruption of the correct local name. Lütke went on to
explore Ahnd and Pakin,
nearly foundering at Ahnd. Pohnpei began to show up on maps a couple years after Lütke's voyage. Ironically, the name of the person who finally plotted the island correctly was not recorded. During the 19th century, Pohnpei was most often referred to as
"Ascension Island", one of the more creative names it was given by foreigners.
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