Lost Arctic expedition
John Franklin · 1845 CE – 1848 CE · Earth
Complete the Northwest Passage.
Historical context
In 1845 the Admiralty, urged on by its veteran secretary John Barrow, sent two well-equipped ships to complete the Northwest Passage; Parliament's old prizes for the passage had lapsed in 1828. The expedition's disappearance triggered one of the largest searches in history, and the Admiralty offered £20,000 to anyone who helped its crews.
The voyage, step by step
Departure from the Thames
May 1845
HMS Erebus and Terror sail from Greenhithe on 19 May 1845 with 134 men; after five are sent home from Greenland, 129 men go on, with three years of provisions.
Baffin Bay
July 1845
After a last stop in Greenland, the ships cross Baffin Bay and are last seen by whalers in July 1845.
Winter at Beechey Island
1845 CE
The expedition winters at Beechey Island in 1845–46, where three men are buried.
Beset off King William Island
September 1846
On 12 September 1846 the ships are beset in the ice off the north-west of King William Island, and the pack holds them for nineteen months.
Franklin dies
11 June 1847
A cairn note records that Franklin died on 11 June 1847; by April 1848, when that line was written, 24 men had died in all.
The ships are abandoned
April 1848
On 22 April 1848 the 105 survivors, under Crozier, abandon the ships and set out on foot; none would return.
Outcome
Both ships were lost and all 129 men died.
John Franklin
British naval officer whose lost Arctic expedition became the most famous disaster in exploration history.
Sources
Continue exploring
- The Erebus and Terror in the AntarcticJames Clark Ross · 1839 CE – 1843 CE
- Voyage to the South Pole and OceaniaJules Dumont d’Urville · 1837 CE – 1840 CE
- The circumnavigation of AustraliaMatthew Flinders · 1801 CE – 1803 CE
- Survey of the Pacific NorthwestGeorge Vancouver · 1791 CE – 1795 CE