Henry Hudson

Explorer Henry Hudson was famous in life and death. Between 1607 and 1611, he led four voyages to find a passage from Europe to the Orient. Although he failed to reach Asia by water, he did discover the Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait. He traveled in dangerous seas. Ice struck his sailing vessels, and his crew suffered from freezing conditions. On his final voyage, his men rebelled. They forced Hudson, his son John, and seven other crew members aboard a small boat and set them adrift to die. The rest of the crew returned to its home port without its captain. They were found not guilty of mutiny—but Hudson and the other maroons were never heard from again.