Thomas Button
Sir Thomas Button († April 1634 ) was an English navigator and polar explorer who discovered the west coast of the Hudson Bay for England .
Life
Button came from a gentry family who owned land near Worleton in Glamorgan, Wales. His year of birth is unknown, but he was the fourth son of Miles Button and his wife Margaret. His career as a seafarer began around 1589.
Button set out in May 1612 with two ships (the Resolution and the Discovery ) from England for the Hudson Bay to search for the polar explorer Henry Hudson , who had been abandoned in the Arctic by mutinous crew members in 1611 and has since been lost, and to search for the Northwest Passage . He reached the mouth of a river he named Nelson River after a deceased crew member . After the crew had wintered in Fort Nelson , Button set out north the following year to look for the Northwest Passage. During this polar voyage, Button lost the resolution in the ice, discovered Mansel Island and finally reached 65 ° north latitude . In 1613 Button returned to England without having found Hudson or the Northwest Passage. Nevertheless, he was knighted by King James I.
He lived in Cardiff until his death and served as Admiral of the King's ships on the coast of Ireland in the English Navy .
Family and offspring
He married Mary, daughter of Sir Walter Rice of Newton House . He and his wife had three sons and a daughter, including:
- Miles ⚭ Barbara, heiress to Rhys Merrick of Cottrell
- Elizabeth ⚭ John Poyer
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Button, Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English navigator and polar explorer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 16th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 1634 |