Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was one of the many British navigators who sought the mythical Northwest Passage, a sea route to the Orient.
He began his search in the area around New York, where he is thought to have been the first European to arrive, and ventured as far south as Chesapeake Bay. Today, the Hudson River, explored on this voyage, bears his name. In 2009, 400 years after Hudson set foot in what is now New York state, a replica of his ship, the Half Moon, was placed in Albany.
Later, after joining the Dutch East India Company, Hudson continued his explorations. The British, displeased to find him working for their business rivals, forbade him to continue.
After finding English backers, in 1610 Hudson sailed the Discovery into the strait that led into Hudson Bay. When he got as far as James Bay, he realized he had hit a dead end.
He was still hoping to find the Northwest Passage, but his crew did not share Hudson's eager interest in exploration. Some of them mutinied and took over the ship in order to turn back. Hudson, his son, and some of his loyal crew were cast off into a small boat and never heard from again. In all likelihood, they died of exposure.
Hudson did not find what he was seeking, but eventually, the bay where he lost his life, along with the strait leading into it, were named after him.
In Vancouver, Henry Hudson Elementary School also bears his name.