1786-1847. English naval explorer who took
part in expeditions to Australia, the Arctic,
and N Canada, and in 1845 commanded an
expedition to look for the Northwest Passage
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, during
which he and his crew perished. The 1845
expedition had virtually found the Passage
when it became trapped in the ice. No trace
of the team was discovered until 1859. In
1984, two of its members, buried on King
Edward Island, were found to be perfectly
preserved in the frozen ground of their
graves.