Parry, William Edward

Born Dec. 19, 1790, in Bath, England; died July 8, 1855, in Bad Ems, Prussia. English arctic explorer.

Parry led three expeditions aboard two ships in search of the Northwest Passage. In 1819–20 he discovered at 74°N lat. Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait, Viscount Melville Sound, Somerset Island (taken for a peninsula), and the islands of Cornwallis, Bathurst, Melville, and Banks. He was the first to trace the southern shore of Devon Island and the northern coast of Baffin Island. In 1821–22 he discovered the Fury and Hecla Strait, proving that Baffin Island is in fact an island and that the northeastern projection of the mainland forms the Melville Peninsula. In 1823–24 he passed through Prince Regent Inlet, thus completing the discovery of the coasts of Baffin Island.