Mystery AtlasSir John Franklin
British Royal Navy officer and veteran Arctic explorer who commanded the 1845 expedition to the Northwest Passage and died aboard HMS Erebus in June 1847.
This is a knowledge-graph entry: what our data records about Sir John Franklin and how it connects to the rest of the atlas. It does not have a full article of its own yet.
Connected to
How this topic links to the people, places, and ideas around it — drawn from our knowledge graph.
Events
Sir John Franklin led Franklin Expedition.
Organisations & Programmes
Sir John Franklin was a member of Royal Navy.
The Franklin Expedition: Disappearance, Dismissal, and Vindication
From departure in 1845 to the 2024 DNA identification confirming Inuit testimony that Victorian Britain had dismissed for over a century.
19 May 1845
HMS Erebus and HMS Terror depart Greenhithe, England
Under the command of Sir John Franklin, carrying 129 officers and men.
July 1845
Whalers in Baffin Bay report speaking with the expedition
The last confirmed European contact with the ships.
September 1846
Both ships become icebound off King William Island
11 June 1847
Sir John Franklin dies aboard HMS Erebus
22 April 1848
The 105 survivors abandon ship and march south
24 men, including Franklin, had already died; the Victory Point Note is left recording the decision.
October 1854
John Rae reports Inuit testimony of the expedition's fate to the Admiralty
Including accounts of cannibalism; the report is met with public outrage and is largely dismissed.
5 May 1859
A search party led by Lieutenant William Hobson finds the Victory Point Note
Part of Francis Leopold McClintock's expedition, the note is the only written record left by the crew.
1997
Bone analysis finds cut marks consistent with cannibalism
Anne Keenleyside and colleagues examine remains recovered from King William Island sites, corroborating Rae's testimony.
9 September 2014
Parks Canada announces the discovery of HMS Erebus
Found in Wilmot and Crampton Bay, close to where Inuit testimony had long placed a ship.
12 September 2016
The Arctic Research Foundation announces the discovery of HMS Terror
Found in Terror Bay, King William Island, in near-pristine condition.
24 September 2024
DNA identifies Captain James Fitzjames among cannibalised remains
A cut-marked mandible found in 1993 is matched to a living descendant, confirming Rae's testimony in individual, physical detail.