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Richard Chancellor Biography

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CHANCELLOR, RICHARD (?-1556). An English navigator, who in 1550 was the companion of Roger Bodenham on his voyage to Candia and Chios. In 1553 he was appointed pilot general of the northern expedition under Sir Hugh Willoughby, the purpose of which was primarily to seek a northeast passage to China. During a hurricane off the Lofoden Islands the ships were scattered. The Edouard Bonaventure, under Chancellor, alone entered the White Sea, landing near the present site of Archangel. From here Chancellor proceeded to Moscow, where he was well received by the Czar, with whom he succeeded in negotiating a treaty of commerce, and shortly afterward the Muscovy Company was established. Chancellor and his crew were shipwrecked and drowned while returning from a second voyage to Russia in 1556.

The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. V (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 31.