Contents Index

Samuel Hearne

Samuel Hearne, 1745-1792, English trader and explorer.

Hearne traveled to Canada in 1766 as a fur trader under the Hudson's Bay Company, and led a number of exploratory expeditions in the area. He explored the Coppermine River area beginning in 1770, and was the first European to travel overland to reach the Arctic. He thereby demonstrated that there was no short Northwest Passage.