William Barents/Willem Barentsz (ca. 1560-1597) was a Dutch navigator, cartographer, and Arctic explorer. He went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage and was the first to reach as far north as °71 N. During his third expedition, the crew was stranded on Novaya Zemlya for almost a year. They made their escape in an open boat, but Barents died on the way back. In the 19th century, the Barents Sea was named after him. For a long time after Barents excursion, Novaya Zemlya was shown as per on the map made during this final trip of Barents, with most of the East side of the Island uncharted.