Willem Barents

Willem Barents (c. 1550-1597), Dutch navigator. Barents made three voyages from the Netherlands in search of a North East Passage to Asia. The first vessel sailed on June 5, 1594, reached the north-eastern extremity of Novaya Zemlya and returned. A second expedition of seven vessels was sent out the following year, but was too late in the season to be successful. On the third expedition, which started in May 1596, Barents discovered and named Spitsbergen (now Svalbard). There his two vessels separated to conduct independent explorations. Barents and his crew spent a miserable winter frozen in north of Novaya Zemlya, the first ever attempt by Europeans to winter in the high Arctic. On June 13, 1597, they left in two open boats; Barents died shortly afterwards. The survivors reached the shores of Saamiland and were rescued by the second ship of the expedition. The Barents Sea, which he crossed in 1594, 1596, and 1597, and Barentsøya (Barents Island) in the Svalbard archipelago are named after him.