The Evolution of the Northwest Passage as a Cartographic Image: 1753-1853
Schedule
Thu Nov 13 2025 at 06:30 pm to 07:30 pm
UTC-08:00Location
420 College St SE, Lacey, WA, United States, Washington 98503 | Lacey, WA
Advertisement
Program Description:After centuries of failure in the attempt to discover the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic side of North America, in 1776 the British Admiralty commissioned Captain Cook’s third voyage to look for this fabled gateway from the “backside” of the continent, that is, via the Pacific Ocean. Cook “failed” to find an Arctic passage, but the concept had such a grip on the popular imagination that a series of maritime and terrestrial explorers (including George Vancouver and Lewis & Clark) tried their hands at several successor versions, which also came to naught. When nature refused to provide the long-sought-for-passage, the following generation built the equivalent, in the form of the Northern Pacific and Canadian Pacific railroads.
Speaker:
David Nicandri is the former director of the Washington State Historical Society, having served in that capacity from 1987 to 2011, when he retired from that position. The Washington State History Museum in downtown Tacoma, which opened in 1996, was his signature achievement.
In recent years Dave has authored several books that inform his talk: River of Promise: Lewis and Clark on the Columbia (2009); Lewis and Clark Reframed: Examining Ties to Cook, Vancouver, and Mackenzie (2020); Captain Cook Rediscovered: Voyaging to the Icy Latitudes (2020); and Discovering Nothing: In Pursuit of an Elusive Northwest Passage (2024).
Dave has two more books in development: “From Juan de Fuca to John C. Fremont: Exploring Northwest Geography, Real and Imagined;” and “The Northwest and Other Passages: Tales from the North.”
Advertisement
Where is it happening?
420 College St SE, Lacey, WA, United States, Washington 98503Event Location & Nearby Stays:
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
