TRAVEL
HISTORY
PEOPLE/CULTURES
SCIENCE
ENVIRONMENT
COUNTRIES
|
|
|
| |
|
Franklin Facts |
|
Country |
England |
|
Occupation |
Explorer, Admiral |
|
Arctic Regions
Explored |
NW Canada, North
American coast |
|
# of Arctic expeditions |
3 |
|
Most famous Arctic
expedition |
Discovered Northwest
Passage (1845) |
|
Other Significant
Events |
Mapped
more than 2500 miles of Arctic coastline |
|
|
Franklin's 1845 expedition
in search of the Northwest Passage left England in
1845 with two ships, the Terror and the Erebus.
Enroute, the ship became trapped
in ice, and the desperate, freezing and starving survivors
resorted to cannibalism.
The tragic journey resulted in
the disappearance of all 128 men never to be heard
from again.
Lead poisoning from poorly-canned
food may have also hastened their death.
A small contingent of the expedition
(without Franklin) may have reached Simpson Strait,
the final part of the Northwest Passage.
Forty expeditions from England
searched unsuccessfully for the Franklin party.
|
|
John Franklin
(1786 - 1847)
In 1845, British Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin (born April 16, 1786)
became the first man to prove the existence of a sea passage through
the North American Arctic, though it was blocked by sea ice and unnavigable
at the time. His expedition ended tragically, however, after his ships
were caught in sea ice between Victoria and King William Islands.
Lacking proper Arctic equipment such as sleds, snowshoes, extra warm
winter clothing, and tents, all members of the expedition perished,
presumably of starvation and exposure. No fewer than 40 expeditions
were sent to find him (see Search
for Franklin). Altogether, Franklin made four journeys to the
Arctic. On his second journey (1819 - 1822) the party ran out of food
and were forced to eat the leather parts of their clothes. When Franklin
returned to England, the public were thrilled by the stories of the
terrible journey and he became a national hero. His next expedition
was a great success. He not only mapped 1,200 miles of coastline,
but collected information on geology and weather, as well as making
notes on 663 plants.
Serving as a Royal Navy Officer, Franklin saw military action in
the battles of Copenhagen, Trafalgar, and New Orleans. His experience,
navigational skills, courage, and resourcefulness led to his appointment
as commander of a land expedition from York Factory on Hudson Bay
to the Arctic in 1819. Proceeding inland Franklin surveyed part
of the northwestern Canadian coast east of the Coppermine River.
Almost a year later he had journeyed as far as Fort Enterprise before
the expedition reached the mouth of the Coppermine River. Here,
traveling by canoe, the party made a detailed exploration of the
coast eastward as far as Turnagain Point on Kent Peninsula and penetrated
south into Bathurst Inlet.
On a second expedition, from 1825 to 1827, Franklin's expedition
was separated into two groups at Point Separation at the head of
the Mackenzie delta. The first party followed the eastern branch
of the river to the ocean and then travelled east to the mouth of
the Coppermine River, having sighted "Wollaston Land"
on Victoria Island and having charted over 1,000 miles of previously
unknown coastline. The second party followed the western channels
of the Mackenzie but encountered thick fog and ice that halted their
progress at Return Reef, within sight of Beechey Point (Alaska,
U.S.). In recognition of these services, he was knighted in 1829.
Following a stint as governor of Tasmania from 1836 to 1843, Franklin
was sent in search of the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to
the Pacific. Franklin took two ships the Erebus and the Terror.
The front of each ship was covered with sheets of iron to help them
push their way through the ice. They were sailing ships but also
had small steam engines and a propeller. The engines had been designed
for use on the Greenwich railway. The ships had enough coal for
12 days and the engines would only be used for breaking a path through
the ice. Franklin's crew was made up of 129 officers and men from
the Royal Navy. Supplies of food, clothing, tobacco and rum and
over 2,000 books were stowed on the ships. There was enough food
to last 3 years...
The Erebus and Terror were last seen in Baffin Bay on July 25 or
26, 1845. Relief expeditions determined that crew members set out
on foot after the loss of their ships in the crushing sea ice. Ill-prepared
for the harsh Arctic conditions all members of the party died. Search
parties, while unsuccessful, did contribute much new knowledge of
the region.
|