In 1741 the naturalist Georg Steller, shipwrecked with Vitus Bering's expedition on an island in the Commander Islands in the Bering Sea, described a giant, gentle relative of the manatee that grazed on kelp, up to 8 or 9 metres long and weighing several tonnes. The castaways killed them for meat, and fur hunters who followed soon discovered the island's riches. Only 27 years after its discovery, in 1768, the last animal was killed. It was the first marine mammal to be hunted to extinction by humans in historical times.
Before and after
- 20 October 1740Birth of Isabelle de Charrière
- 14 November 1740Founding of University of Pennsylvania
- from 29 November 1740 to 6 May 1757Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom
- from 16 December 1740 to 18 October 1748War of the Austrian Succession
- 1741Steller's sea cow is discovered and then hunted to extinction
- 28 July 1741Death of Antonio Vivaldi
- 13 April 1742Handel's Messiah premieres in Dublin
- 14 August 1742Birth of Pius VII
- 2 April 1743Birth of Thomas Jefferson
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The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.