William Baffin (1584 – January 23, 1622) was an English navigator and discoverer. Nothing is known of his early life, but it is conjectured that he was born in London of humble origin, and gradually raised himself by his diligence and perseverance. Events June 1 - With the death of the Duc dAnjou, the Huguenot Henry of Navarre becomes heir-presumptive to the throne of France. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... For the WWW browsers of the same name, see Netscape Navigator and Mozilla. ... The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ...

The earliest mention of his name occurs in 1612, in connection with an expedition in search of a North-West Passage, under the orders of Captain James Hall, whom he accompanied as chief pilot. Captain Hall was murdered in a fight with the local inhabitants on the west coast of Greenland, and during the two following years Baffin served in the Spitsbergen whale-fishery, at that time controlled by the Muscovy Company. Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... Some possible Northwest Passage routes through the Canadian archipelago For the film of this name, see Northwest Passage (movie). ... There have been several well-known people named James Hall, including: Sir James Hall, Scots geologist and geophysicist (1761 - 1832). ... Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, which is situated in the Arctic Ocean and administered by Norway. ... Categories: Russian history | Moscow | Organization stubs ...

In 1615 he entered the service of the Company for the discovery of the North-West Passage, and accompanied Captain Robert Bylot as pilot of the little ship Discovery, and now carefully examined Hudson Strait. The accuracy of Baffin's tidal and astronomical observations on this voyage was confirmed in a remarkable manner by Sir Edward Parry, when passing over the same ground, two centuries later (1821). Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Robert Bylot was an explorer. ... Discovery was a 70-ton fly-boat of the English East India Company, launched before 1602. ... Hudson Strait is a strait connecting Hudson Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, running in an west-east direction. ... Sir William Edward Parry (December 19, 1790 - July 8, 1855) was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer. ... 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

In the following year Baffin again sailed as pilot of the Discovery, and passing up Davis Strait discovered the fine bay to the north which now bears his name, together with the magnificent series of straits which radiate from its head and were named by him Lancaster, Smith and Jones Sounds, in honour of the generous patrons of his voyages. On this voyage he had sailed over 300 statute miles (480 km) farther north than his predecessor John Davis, and for 236 years his farthest north (about lat. 77° 45') remained unsurpassed in that sea. Davis Strait lies between mid-Western Greenland and the Canadian island of Baffin Island. ... An iceberg at the edge of the Baffin Bays sea ice. ... A mile is any of several units of distance, or, in physics terminology, of length. ... John Davis (1550? - 1605) was one of the chief English navigators and explorers under Elizabeth I, especially in Polar regions. ...

All hopes, however, seemed now ended of discovering a passage to India by this route, and in course of time even Baffin's discoveries came to be doubted until they were re-discovered by Captain Ross in 1818. Baffin next took service with the British East India Company, and in 1617-1619 performed a voyage to Surat in British India, and on his return received the special recognition of the Company for certain valuable surveys of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf which he had made in the course of the voyage. Sir John Ross (June 24, 1777 - August 30, 1856) was a British rear admiral and Arctic explorer. ... 1818 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... Events Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed I (1603-1617) to Mustafa I (1617-1623). ... Events May 13 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason. ... Surat is a port city in the Indian state of Gujarat. ... The British Raj is an informal term for the period of British rule of most of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (previously known as Ceylon). ... Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew ים סוף Yam Suf) is a gulf or basin of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... Satellite image showing the Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf (Persian: خلیج فارس, pronounced khalij-e fārs, IPA:/χaliːdʒɛfaːrs/, Arabic: الخليج الفارسي) is an extension of the Gulf of Oman in between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran (Persia). ...

Early in 1620 he again sailed to the East, and in the Anglo-Persian attack on Kishm in the Persian Gulf, preparatory to the reduction of Ormus, he received his death-wound and died, January 23, 1622. Besides the importance of his geographical discoveries, Baffin is to be remembered for the importance and accuracy of his numerous scientific and magnetic observations, for one of which (the determination of longitude at sea by lunar observation) the honour is claimed of being the first of its kind on record. Events September 6 - English emigrants on the Mayflower depart from Plymouth, England for the future New England and arrive at the end of the year. ... Kishm is an island situated in the Strait of Hormuz off the south coast of Iran and east of the Persian Gulf. ... Ormus (also Ohrmuzd, Hormuz, Ohrmazd) was a kingdom in the 16th to 17th centuries around the Persian Gulf, in particular the Strait of Hormuz. ... January 23 is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events January 1 - In the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is declared as the first day of the year, instead of March 25. ... Map of Earth showing curved lines of longitude Longitude, sometimes denoted λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ...

Baffin Bay and Baffin Island are named in his honour. An iceberg at the edge of the Baffin Bays sea ice. ... Baffin Island (Inuktitut: Qikiqtaaluk ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ) is one of the Canada in the territory of Nunavut. ...

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=34160)