Hugh Willoughby

Willoughby, Hugh 

Date of birth unknown; died 1554 on the Kola Peninsula, at the mouth of the Varzina River. English polar navigator.

In 1553, Willoughby was given command of an expedition organized by London merchants to search for the Northwest Passage. On May 10 he set sail from London with three ships. After crossing the North Sea, the expedition headed north along the coast of Norway. On August 3, however, at 70° N lat., the ships became separated during a storm. The two commanded by Willoughby and C. Durfoorth, after rounding the tip of Norway, reached Novaia Zemlia, turned around, and on September 14 anchored for the winter at the mouth of the Varzina River on the Kola Peninsula. During the course of the winter, Willoughby and all his companions perished. Meanwhile, the third ship, under the command of R. Chancellor, succeeded in reaching the mouth of the Severnaia Dvina River.

REFERENCES

Angliiskie puteshestvenniki v Moskovskom gosudarstve v XVI veke. Leningrad, 1937.
Magidovich, I. P., and V.I. Magidovich. Istoriia otkrytiia i issledovaniia Evropy. Moscow, 1970.