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Willem Barentsz

Willem Barentsz

1550 –June 20, 1597

Explorer, Cartographer, Polar explorer, Navigator, Skipper, Maritime cartographer

Lived 47 years

Born in
Formerum
Passed away in
Novaya Zemlya

Willem Barentsz (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋɪləm ˈbaːrənts]; c. 1550 – 20 June 1597), anglicized as William Barents or Barentz, was a Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer.

Barentsz went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage. He reached as far as Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Sea in his first two voyages, but was turned back on both occasions by ice. During a third expedition, the crew discovered Spitsbergen and Bear Island, but subsequently became stranded on Novaya Zemlya for almost a year. Barentsz died on the return voyage in 1597.

The Barents Sea, among many other places, is named after him.

Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Barentsz