1807-1873

Irish Explorer

The name of Sir Robert McClure is inextricably linked with the Northwest Passage because of his determination to find the elusive waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Born in Wexford, County Wexford, Ireland, on January 28, 1807, Robert McClure completed his apprenticeships and training to become an Irish naval officer. He later settled in England and was given command of the Investigator.

For many centuries, seafaring nations have tried to overcome what is probably the world's severest seagoing challenge: the navigable crossing of a series of deep, treacherous channels that pass through Canada's Arctic Islands. Reaching the passage from the Atlantic side meant threading a watery way between, around, and past about 50,000 giant icebergs (many up to 300 ft [91 m] high), with a constant drift toward the south between Greenland and Baffin Island. The alternate approach from...