author
Sir William Edward Parry
1790–1855
A seasoned Royal Navy officer who became one of the great early Arctic explorers, he is best remembered for bold voyages in search of the Northwest Passage and for pushing farther north than almost anyone of his era.
3 Audiobooks
Three Voyages for the Discovery of a Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and Narrative of an Attempt to Reach the North Pole, Volume 2
by Sir William Edward Parry
Journal of the Third Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage
by Sir William Edward Parry
About the author
Born in Bath in 1790, he entered the Royal Navy as a boy and built his reputation through discipline, seamanship, and a calm, practical style of leadership. His name is most closely linked with Arctic exploration, especially the 1819–1820 voyage that carried his expedition through what is now called Parry Channel, one of the most important advances in the long search for the Northwest Passage.
He went on to lead further northern expeditions between 1821 and 1825, and in 1827 made an ambitious attempt to reach the North Pole by sledge and boat, setting a new "farthest north" for the time. Beyond exploration, he also worked in hydrography and later served as Lieutenant-Governor of Greenwich Hospital.
Parry died in 1855, but his journals and voyage narratives helped shape the public story of Arctic discovery in the 19th century. He is often remembered not just for endurance in extreme conditions, but for the careful, methodical way he organized difficult journeys into the polar world.