1587 -- John Davis (England). Davis Strait to Sanderson's Hope,
72d 12' N.
1596 -- Willem Barents and Jacob van Heemskerck (Holland).
Discovered Bear Island, touched northwest tip of Spitsbergen, 79d 49' N,
rounded Novaya Zemlya, wintered at Ice Haven.
1607 -- Henry Hudson (England). North along Greenland's east
coast to Cape Hold-with-Hope, 73d 30', then north of Spitsbergen to 80d23d. Returning he discovered
Hudson's Touches (Jan Mayen).
1616 -- William Baffin and Robert Bylot (England). Baffin Bay to
Smith Sound.
1728 -- Vitus Bering (Russia). Proved Asia and America
were
separated by sailing through strait.
1733-40 -- Great Northern Expedition (Russia). Surveyed Siberian Arctic coast.
1741 -- Vitus Bering (Russia). Sighted Alaska from sea, named
Mount St. Elias. His lieutenant, Chirikof, discovered coast.
1771 -- Samuel Hearne (Hudson's Bay Co.). Overland from Prince
of Wales Fort (Churchill) on Hudson Bay to mouth of Coppermine river.
1778 -- James Cook (Britain). Through Bering Strait to Icy Cape,
Alaska, and North Cape, Siberia.
1789 -- Alexander Mackenzie (North West Co., Britain). Montreal
to mouth of Mackenzie River.
1806 -- William Scoresby (Britain). N. of Spitsbergen to 81d
30d.
1820-3 -- Ferdinand von Wrangel (Russia). Completed a survey of
Siberian Arctic coast. His exploration joined that of James Cook at North
Cape, confirming separation of the continents.
1845 -- Sir John Franklin (Britain) was one of many to seek the
Northwest Passage--an ocean route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific via
the Arctic. His 2 ships (the Erebus and Terror ) were last
seen entering Lancaster Sound July, 26.
1881 -- The steamer Jeanette on an expedition led by Lt.
Cmdr. George W. DeLong was trapped in ice and crushed, June 1881. DeLong
and 11 crewmen died; 12 others survived.
1893-96 -- Nansen in Fram drifted from New Siberian Is. to Spitsbergen;
tried polar dash in 1895, reached Franz Josef Land.
1897 -- Salomon A. Andree (Sweden) and 2 others started in
balloon from Danes, Is., Spitsbergen, July 11, to drift across pole to
America, and disappeared. Over 33 years later, Aug. 6, 1930, their frozen
bodies were found on White Is., 82d 57' N 29d 52' E.
1903-06 -- Roald Amundsen (Norway) first sailed Northwest
Passage.
