Originally inhabited by Alutiiq natives for over 7000 years, the city was settled in the 18th century by the subjects of the Russian crown and became the capital of Russian Alaska.
In the Alutiiq language, kadiak means "island". In 1763, the Russian explorer Stephan Glotov discovered the island, calling it Kad’yak (Кадьяк). He was followed by the British captain James Cook fifteen years later, who first penned "Kodiak" in his journals in 1778.