Baffin, William

views updated

Baffin, William (1584–1622) English navigator and explorer. Baffin took part in several expeditions (1612–16) in search of the Northwest Passage. He discovered the Canadian Arctic seaways, the island now named after him, and Lancaster Sound. An outstanding navigator, he published a method of determining longitude by the stars, using nautical tables, and was possibly the first to make lunar observations at sea.

More From encyclopedia.com