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Luke Fox, also spelled Foxe, explorer (b at Kingston-upon-Hull, Eng 20 Oct 1586; d c 15 July 1635). He left for the Arctic in 1631, 2 days after Thomas JAMES left on a rival voyage.
Fox, Luke
Luke Fox, also spelled Foxe, explorer (b at Kingston-upon-Hull, Eng 20 Oct 1586; d c 15 July 1635). He left for the Arctic in 1631, 2 days after Thomas JAMES left on a rival voyage. He explored the west shore of HUDSON BAY and met James by chance near Cape Henrietta Maria, turned north and was the first to sail beyond Foxe Channel (named for him later by W.E. PARRY), into FOXE BASIN, and along the Foxe Peninsula. His report of impenetrable barriers cancelled the last hope of a NORTHWEST PASSAGE and abated the zeal for arctic exploration for almost 200 years. Fox answered criticism that he had given up too easily with a remarkable book, North-West Fox (1635), a rare document of arctic exploration.
