Edward Parry (Royal Navy officer, born 1790)

Lore & Background

Parry was born in Bath, Somerset, the son of Caleb Hillier Parry and Sarah Rigby. He was educated at King Edward's School. He studied astronomical observations in northern latitudes and later published Nautical Astronomy by Night. Parry and others thought Ross was wrong to turn back after entering Lancaster Sound. They crossed Baffin Bay straight to Lancaster Sound, passed Ross's farthest west, and continued through the Parry Channel. Blocked by ice, they went south into Prince Regent Inlet before turning back. The ships were frozen in for ten months; the first scurvy case appeared in January. Parry carried mustard and cress seeds and planted them in his cabin. He passed Frozen Strait, re-checked Repulse Bay, mapped the Melville Peninsula, and wintered at Winter Island. From Inuit he learned the coast turned west. They wintered at Port Bowen. The wreck site, Fury Beach, became an important landmark.

Reader's Guide

Parry's careful preparations—including improved ship cladding, tin-can food storage, and anti-scurvy measures like mustard and cress seeds—advanced polar survival techniques. His published journals, such as Journal of a Voyage to discover a North-west Passage, contributed to geographical knowledge. The Fury Beach wreck site became a crucial cache for later explorers.

Did You Know?

• He carried mustard and cress seeds in his cabin to help combat scurvy among his crew.
• The wreck site of HMS Fury, called Fury Beach, became an important landmark and supply cache for later explorers.