William Scoresby Sr. (1760–1829) was a mariner from Whitby, England, who commanded thirty whaling voyages into Arctic waters between 1791 and 1822 without losing a ship. He is credited with inventing the topgallant “crow’s nest” in 1807, as well as other devices related to whaling operations.

In addition to his work as a whaling master, Scoresby developed navigational skills and was the first after Henry Hudson to trace the east coast of what was then called “West Greenland,” to distinguish it from Spitsbergen, which was then known as Greenland or “East Greenland.” In 1822, Scoresby and his son, William Scoresby Jr.—who was by then commanding his own whaling vessel—explored a large bay along Greenland’s east coast that was subsequently named Scoresby Sound.

Scoresby Sr. was born in 1760 and spent nearly 43 of his 69 years at sea. He died in Whitby in 1829, about seven years after retiring.

William Scoresby Jr. was born in 1789. At age 21, he became master of the whaler Resolution. After his whaling career, he pursued scientific and religious studies, receiving a Doctor of Divinity degree from Cambridge in 1839. He died in Torquay in 1857.

A younger son, Thomas Scoresby (1804–1866), also spent several years at sea before earning a medical degree. He practiced in Edinburgh and London before emigrating to the United States, where he died in Ellenville, New York, in 1866. For a more complete Scoresby biography, see volume #71 in this collection.