Catherine the Great
A German princess who overthrew her husband to take the throne, annexed Crimea, joined the partitions of Poland and ordered Odesa founded.
| Lived | 1729 – 1796 |
| Known as | Empress of Russia |
| Birthplace or main place | Stettin |
| Places on the map | St Petersburg, Odesa, Sevastopol |
StettinSee the world of Catherine the Great in the interactive map
Who ruled these places in her lifetime
| Place | At birth (map of 1700) | At death (map of 1783) |
|---|---|---|
| Stettin | Sweden | Prussia |
| St Petersburg | Sweden | Russian Empire |
| Odesa | Ottoman Empire | Russian Empire |
| Sevastopol | Ottoman Empire | Russian Empire |
From the border maps nearest to each date; borders are approximate.
Events in her lifetime
| Year | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1783 | Russia founds the Black Sea Fleet base | Sevastopol |
| 1794 | Catherine II orders the city founded | Odesa |
Further reading
Contemporaries
| Lived | Person | |
|---|---|---|
| 1711 – 1799 | Qianlong Emperor | Qing emperor |
| 1724 – 1804 | Immanuel Kant | Philosopher |
| 1732 – 1799 | George Washington | First president of the United States |
| 1706 – 1790 | Benjamin Franklin | Scientist and statesman |
| 1743 – 1826 | Thomas Jefferson | Third president of the United States |
| 1728 – 1779 | James Cook | Navigator |
| 1694 – 1778 | Voltaire | Enlightenment writer |
| 1712 – 1778 | Jean-Jacques Rousseau | Philosopher |
| 1749 – 1832 | Johann Wolfgang von Goethe | Writer |
| 1746 – 1792 | Tiradentes | Forerunner of Brazilian independence |
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.