Willem Barents (* around 1550 on the island of Terschelling in the village of Formerum; † June 20, 1597 on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago) was a Dutch navigator and explorer of the late 16th century. The Barents Sea (part of the Arctic Ocean), the Barents Island (part of the Spitsbergen archipelago) and the mining settlement of Barentsburg were named after him. Willem Barents is considered the discoverer of Spitsbergen.