Although Franklin anticipated further Arctic expeditions, the Admiralty sent him to patrol the Mediterranean Sea during the Greek War of Independence from 1830-33. In November 1828, he married Jane Griffin, a friend of his late wife. While there, he laid a stone for one of the entrance locks of the Rideau Canal. Passing through Upper Canada on his return journey in August 1827, Franklin stopped at a small lumber community called Bytown, which later became Ottawa, Canada's capital. He made preparations well in advance and sent supplies ahead to Hudson's Bay Company posts.įranklin charted nearly 2,000 kilometres of coastline from the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Learning from the mistakes of his last expedition, he planned a more self-sufficient effort. The Admiralty appointed Franklin to lead a second overland expedition (1825-1827) to explore more of the Arctic coast. The marriage was short-lived: Eleanor had suffered from ill health for years and died of tuberculosis while Franklin was en route to his second Arctic survey. The disastrous expedition became infamous: back in London, Franklin was known as "the man who ate his boots." During his time at home, he married Eleanor Anne Porden and their daughter Eleanor Isabella was born. By that time, starvation, exposure, and in-fighting had killed 11 of the 19 men. In the end, the men were reduced to eating deer skins, bones, lichen, and boiled boot leather before George Back and a party of Dene finally arrived with food. Franklin and his men lacked the experience and skills to survive on the land. Fur trade companies had been asked to provide supplies and guides, but their support was insufficient. While Franklin and his men managed to survey the coast from the mouth of the Coppermine River, the expedition suffered from the outset. These overland explorations were accompanied by ongoing sea voyages to chart the Arctic Archipelago and locate a sea passage. The expedition was part of a broader plan to find a passage by determining the limits of the continent. In 1819, the Admiralty put Franklin in command of an overland expedition to chart the northern coast of North America. Overland survey for the Northwest Passage Believing the North Pole was in open water, the expedition planned to sail from Spitsbergen (north of Norway) to the Bering Strait. In 1818, he captained HMS Trent, a small whaling vessel in an expedition led by Captain Buchan on Dorothea. The British Admiralty made use of some of these available ships and men in a government-sponsored revived search for a northwest passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.įranklin participated in one of these first expeditions. Once Napoleon was finally defeated and peace arrived, Franklin, like many members of the British military, was discharged and found himself on half pay and without work. His first voyage of discovery (1801-1803) charted the Australian coast, an experience that probably began Franklin’s interest in exploration. He was wounded during the War of 1812 in North America. He served on ships during the Napoleonic Wars, including during the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) and the Battle of Trafalgar (1805). Like many sailors of this era, he served in many capacities, rising in the ranks and gaining experience. Despite the opposition of his father, who hoped he would become a clergyman, Franklin joined the Royal Navy at age 14. John Franklin was born in 1786 in Spilsby, England, to a middle-class merchant family. He later captained a vessel that patrolled the Mediterranean Sea, and from 1837 to 1843, served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land (today Tasmania, Australia). In 1818, he had served as captain on HMS Trent during an expedition instructed to sail across the North Pole and between 18, he had led two overland expeditions to explore and chart the northern coast of Canada’s mainland.ĭuring his early naval career, Franklin had served on ships that participated in the Napoleonic Wars – including the Battle of Trafalgar – and the charting of Australia’s coastline. Franklin, a career naval officer, had not been to the Arctic for almost 20 years. The British Admiralty – the administrative arm of the Royal Navy – appointed Sir John Franklin to lead the 1845 Arctic expedition.
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