c. 1565-1611

English Explorer

Both a small but significant river in New York and an immense bay—by far the world's largest—in Canada are named after Henry Hudson. The great sea distance between these two bodies of water is a tribute to his wide-ranging explorations, and to his bold but ultimately tragic attempts toward finding the elusive Northwest Passage.

Ironically, Hudson spent the early part of his career searching for the Northeast Passage, the sea route via the northern coast of Russia and Siberia to China. In 1607, the Muscovy Company in his native England hired him for this purpose, but though he explored the forbidding regions of Jay Mayen Island and Svalbard between Scandinavia and Greenland, he did not find the passage. Another voyage the following year was cut short due to heavy ice.

In 1609, Hudson set sail yet again, this time under the...