Henry Hudson

Henry Hudson, born in 1565, was an English sea explorer and navigator whose voyages during the early 17th century significantly shaped the course of North American exploration. He is best remembered for his expeditions that opened up present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States to European contact.

In the years 1607 and 1608, Hudson embarked on two ambitious attempts to discover a rumored Northeast Passage to Cathay, navigating above the Arctic Circle on behalf of English merchants. However, it was in 1609, while working for the Dutch East India Company, that he made a pivotal landing in North America, exploring the area around what is now the New York metropolitan region.

Hudson's journey aboard the Halve Maen, or