Parry, Sir William Edward (1790-1855), an English Arctic explorer. Parry commanded three expeditions to Canada in search of a northwest passage to the Pacific, 1819-25. On the first expedition he discovered the Parry Islands—including Devon, Cornwallis, and Melville islands—in 1819, and penetrated to 114º west longitude within the Arctic Circle, a new record. In 1827 Parry tried to reach the North Pole from Svalbard (Spitsbergen), using sledge boats (amphibious sleds). He reached 82º 45' north latitude, a record not broken until 1876. Parry, who entered the British navy in 1804, was knighted in 1829. He was made a rear admiral in 1852.