The following pages, the beginning of a series, are the first results of a chronological compilation of expeditions and historical events that will eventually embrace the entire Arctic and sub-Arctic area. We began work on the Canadian segment of the Northern Hemisphere in 1968, with financial support from the History Division of the National Museum of Man, a part of the National Museums of Canada in Ottawa. The History Division is allowing this form of preliminary publication of the work it has supported in the expectation of securing corrections and additions to it, thereby enhancing the usefulness and authority of the list in its final form. The Canadian list, when it is published in full, will carry bibliographical references to each expedition and event, an alphabetical roster of persons known to have participated in the expeditions listed, a roster of ships' names, and a regional and topical index.