William Edward Parry

William Edward Parry (1790-1855), British explorer in the Arctic, who made unsuccessful attempts to find the Northwest Passage and to reach the North Pole. In 1819-20 Parry sailed beyond longitude 11° West, the first person to do so in the Arctic, and discovered and mapped considerable territory, including Barrow Strait, Prince Regent Inlet, Melville Sound, and Wellington Channel. In 1821-23 Parry spent two winters on Melville Peninsula making scientific observations and studying the Inuit. After one more unsuccessful search for the Northwest Passage in 1824-25, he set out in 1827 from Spitsbergen by sledge boat for the North Pole. Before turning back, his party reached latitude 82°45' north, a proximity to the North Pole not attained again until 1876.