June 20, 1597: Dutch cartographer and explorer Willem Barentsz died at sea somewhere in the Arctic. He went on three expeditions to the far north in search for a Northeast passage, and during his third expedition, the crew was stranded on Nova Zembla for almost a year.
They were the first Europeans to winter so far north and their wintering place became known as ‘Huys, or ‘The Barents House’, which remained undisturbed for nearly 300 years. After the winter the crew started for the mainland in two small boats but Barents died on the way. It is not known whether he was buried on the northern island of Nova Zembla, or at sea. In the 19th century, the Barents Sea was named after him. There were only 12 survivors from the expedition.
