Icebergs and the Aurora Borealis. Search for Franklin's lost Arctic expedition. Rear-admiral Sir John Franklin (April 16, 1786 - June 11, 1847) was an English Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. In 1819, Franklin was chosen to lead an expedition overland from Hudson Bay to chart the north coast of Canada. He lost 11 of the 20 men in his party. Most died of starvation, but there were also at least one murder and suggestions of cannibalism. Franklin disappeared on his last expedition, attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The icebound ships were abandoned and the entire crew died of starvation, hypothermia, tuberculosis, lead poisoning, and scurvy. Illustrated London, 1849. |