Barents, Willem, << BAR uhnts, WIHL uhm >> (?-1597), was a Dutch navigator. In 1596, he and his crew were searching for a northeast passage to Asia when they reached the island group now called Svalbard. Later, their ship became icebound near the islands of Novaya Zemlya, over 600 miles (970 kilometers) north of the Arctic Circle. As a result, Barents and his crew became the first Europeans to winter so far north. They built a comfortable house from the ship’s timbers and killed polar bears and foxes for food. Barents died in June 1597 on the return journey. The Barents Sea bears his name.
See also Barents Sea .
