The North-West Passage is the route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Many explorers have risked and lost their lives in searching for this passage, which would be a trade route between Europe and Asia. 

HMS Terror and Erebus - the story of Franklin's lost expedition
Find out more about the history of Franklin's fatal voyage, and the continuing work to explore the Erebus and Terror shipwrecks
21 Feb 2020
New discoveries from the wrecks of HMS Erebus and Terror
Archaeologists exploring the shipwrecks of HMS Erebus and Terror have recovered over 350 objects from the lost Franklin expedition.
William Moor North-West Passage expedition 1741–42
In 1741, Anglo-Irish MP Albert Dobbs commissioned William Moor to search for the North-West Passage, in a bid to strengthen Britain’s trade routes.
William Edward Parry first North-West Passage expedition 1819–20
William Edward Parry was a key figure in the discovery of the North-West Passage. On his first voyage he discovered a route through Lancaster Sound.
William Baffin and Robert Bylot North-West Passage expedition 1615-16
In 1615, William Baffin and Robert Bylot searched for the North-West Passage. Baffin pioneered new techniques for calculating longitude.
Thomas James North-West Passage expedition 1631–32
Thomas James's 1631 voyage to find the North-West Passage became famous thanks to his memoir, The Strange and Dangerous Voyage of Captain Thomas James (1633).
Thomas Button North-West Passage expedition 1612–13
In 1612, explorer Thomas Button sailed in two ships, Resolution and the Discovery, in search of the North-West Passage.
Search for the Northwest Passage
For over 300 years explorers risked their lives to search the Arctic for a route between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans
Samuel Hearne North-West Passage expedition 1770–72
Samuel Hearne journeyed overland to search for the North-West Passage in 1770. He was the first man to walk from Hudson Bay to the Arctic Ocean.
Robert McClure North-West Passage expedition 1850–54
In 1854 Robert McClure was credited as the first man to navigate the North-West Passage - although much of his journey was over ice, rather than water.