Ross, Sir John (1777-1856), led a British expedition in 1818 to seek a Northwest Passage to Asia. Commanding the Isabella, he sailed into Baffin Bay as far as Lancaster Sound but turned back, thinking that mountains blocked his way. In 1829, he led a second expedition, but again failed. On this expedition, he surveyed the Gulf of Boothia, the Boothia Peninsula , and King William Island. Ross was born on June 24, 1777, in Inch, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. He joined the Navy at the age of 9 and rose to admiral. Ross was knighted in 1834. He died on Aug. 30, 1856. See also Arctic Ocean .
