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John Franklin

British Arctic explorer who died on his final Northwest Passage expedition.

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He led two overland Arctic expeditions before his final voyage to traverse the Northwest Passage, where he died in June 1847 after his ships became icebound.[1] The entire crew later died from starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy after the ships were abandoned.[1] A British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and colonial administrator, Sir John Franklin saw service in both the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.[1]

Life and work

He saw action at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 and later served as a midshipman on Matthew Flinders's voyage to Australia.[2][3] Franklin served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1837 to 1843.[1] His father, a merchant, initially opposed Franklin's naval ambitions and had him educated at King Edward VI Grammar School in Louth; Franklin entered the Royal Navy in 1800 after his father reluctantly allowed a trial merchant voyage.[4][3] Franklin participated in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar and, while serving as a lieutenant during the War of 1812, received a wound at the Battle of Lake Borgne on 14 December 1814.[5]

For the 1819 Coppermine expedition, Franklin was selected to command an overland journey from Hudson Bay that aimed to map Canada's north coast.[6] On that expedition, which lasted from 1819 to 1822, eleven of the twenty men perished; most succumbed to starvation or exhaustion, though at least one murder occurred and cannibalism was alleged.[7] Franklin married poet Eleanor Anne Porden in 1823; following her death from tuberculosis in 1825, he wed Jane Griffin on 5 November 1828.[8][9]

What the cited sources add

The biography by Holland notes that Franklin was the ninth child and youngest son, born over his father's shop in Spilsby.[3] Holland states that Franklin entered the navy as a first-class volunteer in October 1800 at age 14 and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April 1801.[3] Holland reports that Franklin learned astronomy and surveying from Flinders, who gave him the nickname "Mr. Tycho Brahe"[3] Holland records that Franklin later wrote to his brother about experiencing happiness from religion during moments of greatest distress.[3]

Holland notes that Commodore Sir Nathaniel Dance commended Franklin for his "zeal and alacrity" during the engagement that repelled French vessels.[3]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bayliss, "Sir John Franklin's last arctic expedition: a medical disaster", Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 12 March 2002, p. 151–153 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Traill 1896, p. 3; Lamb 1956, p. 13; Lamb 1956, p. 13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Holland, "Franklin, Sir John". facts only, no text reused. biographi.ca
  4. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lamb 1956, p. 13; Lamb 1956, p. 13; Lamb 1956, p. 13; Lamb 1956, p. 13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Holland, "Franklin, Sir John"; "Great Canadian Rivers: The Hayes", TV Ontario, 29 October 2001 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Franklin, "Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea", John Murray, 3 August 2006, p. 279 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gell, "John Franklin's Bride", John Murray, 1930, p. 303; Woodward, "John Philip Gell (1816–1898)", 1966; "Gell; Eleanor Isabella (1824-1860)", Derbyshire Record Office (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "John Franklin" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Address", The Hobart Town Courier (Tas: 1827–1839), 26 May 1837, p. 3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article John Franklin (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Named in this entry

Napoleonic WarsHudson Bay

Also in the Codexery

John Franklin · English Folklore

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year was John Franklin born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1786.

From the source: “Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator. After serving in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812, he led two expeditions into the Canadian Arctic”

2. In what year did John Franklin die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1847.

From the source: “During his third and final expedition, an attempt to traverse the Northwest Passage in 1845, Franklin's ships became icebound off King William Island in what is now Nunavut, where he died in June 1847.”

3. In which place was John Franklin born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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