Richard Chancellor

Richard Chancellor (birth date unknown â€" 1556) was an English seaman who was responsible for the establishment of diplomatic ties between Mary I of England and Ivan IV of Russia.

Chancellor was second-in-command under Sir Hugh Willoughby in a 1553 expedition to search for the north-east passage. The party reached as far as the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery in the White Sea. He then travelled to Moscow on the invitation of Ivan IV. Their meeting eventually led to a trade treaty between England and Russia, and the establishment of the Muscovy Company.

Chancellor died when his ship was wrecked off the east coast of Scotland in 1556.

He is featured in Dorothy Dunnett's work of historical fiction, "The Ringed Castle".