BUTTON, Sir Thomas, English navigator. He was placed in command of an expedition to the northwest, sent out two years after Hudson's last voyage. He sailed from England in May, 1612, with two vessels, the "Resolution" and the "Discovery," provisioned for eighteen months. He passed through Hudson strait and crossed the bay to the southern point of Southampton island, which place he named Carey's Swan's Nest. He continued his course westward, expecting to find a northwest passage, and, when he came to the western shore of the bay, gave it the significant name of Hope's Check; then coasted along the shore and came to Nelson river, which he named Port Nelson, after the master of his ship. There he wintered, and in the summer of 1613, after the breaking up of the ice, he made an exploration of the bay as far as lat. 65° N., and of Southampton island, returning to England in the autumn, thoroughly convinced that a northwest passage existed. He was knighted for his services.