James Knight (explorer)

James Knight (–) was an English director of the Hudson's Bay Company and an explorer who disappeared on an expedition to find the Northwest Passage.
Career.
Knight was born in England and joined the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1676 as a carpenter. In 1682, he became chief factor of the trading post of Fort Albany in James Bay, where he became rich. In 1697, he bought stock in the HBC; in 1711, he gained a seat on the board of directors. 
The long wars of the Grand Alliance and the Spanish Succession between England and France had spread to North America and battered the Company financially and logistically. Four of the Company's five trading posts were lost to the French; Knight led an expedition in 1693 that successfully recaptured Fort Albany, the only one retained by the English. However, among the provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 was the restoration of the captured posts. He gave a mission to William Stewart, the mission consisting in Developing commerce with the Chipewyans and make peace with the Cris.
In 1714, Knight was sent out to take possession of York Factory and restore the Company's fortunes. "Having served in a range of capacities in the Hudson’s Bay Company over the preceding 38 years, he was one of the most experienced fur traders ever to have taken charge of a company post." Despite the damage to the fort from the French occupation, and the hardships of the climate, he succeeded in rebuilding the Company's business, and in 1719, it paid its first dividend in 20 years.
Northwest Passage.
Knight was determined to find the Northwest Passage, a then-hypothetical route connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian North. A Chipewyan interpreter working for Knight told him of a possible mineral-rich route across the north. Knight outfitted two ships, the "Albany" and "Discovery"—captained by George Berley and David Vaughan respectively—to search for this route, and set off in 1719. They never returned.
In 1721, Knight and his crew were on Marble Island, located from today's Rankin Inlet. It is possible the ships encountered the shallows of the local waters and were wrecked, although they were able to successfully offload large quantities of coal, several cannons and provisions.
There is evidence of interaction with the local Inuit, but by 1722, Knight and his crew were reported to have perished from sickness and famine. Apparently, the Company post at Churchill was completely unaware of the shipwreck, as no search or rescue expedition was ever sent. On 20 November 1765, "two Inuit boys informed the commander at Fort Churchill, Moses Norton, that their Elders had told them a story about two ships having been wrecked on Marble Island many years ago." The ruins of Knight's settlement on Marble Island were discovered in 1768, by Company explorer Samuel Hearne.