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 and through the islands of the Arctic Archipelago, during the Coppermine expedition of 1819 and the Mackenzie River expedition of 1825, and served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1837 to 1843. 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. The icebound ships were abandoned ten months later, and the entire crew died from causes such as starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy.
HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, the British expedition searching for a Northwest Passage led by John Franklin, become trapped
HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, the British expedition searching for a Northwest Passage led by John Franklin, become trapped by ice near King William Island; all eventually perish [1]
Historical Significance
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator.
Events Before
Explorer and medical missionary David Livingstone (31) weds Mary Moffat
David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish doctor, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa.
Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed, becoming the world's first subway tunnel
Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed, becoming the world's first subway tunnel
Scientific American magazine publishes its first issue
Scientific American, informally abbreviated SciAm or sometimes SA, is an American popular science magazine.
English chemist Michael Faraday discovers the "Faraday effect," the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light
English chemist Michael Faraday discovers the "Faraday effect," the influence of a magnetic field on polarized light
The first baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers, organizes and adopts a rulebook, known as the Knickerbocker Rules
The first baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers, organizes and adopts a rulebook, known as the Knickerbocker Rules
Events After
Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government
Samuel Colt (July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of…
Michigan becomes the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the st
Michigan becomes the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the state)
First civic public park, Birkenhead Park, designed by Joseph Paxton, opens in Birkenhead, England
Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847.
Author of Moby-Dick, American novelist Herman Melville (28) marries Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Chief Justice of the Mas
Author of Moby-Dick, American novelist Herman Melville (28) marries Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Battle of Chapultepec: American forces capture Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican–American War, allowing US General W
Battle of Chapultepec: American forces capture Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican–American War, allowing US General Winfield Scott to take Mexico City
More from the 1840s
Richard Wagner's opera "The Flying Dutchman" premieres in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony
Richard Wagner's opera "The Flying Dutchman" premieres in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony
Explorer and medical missionary David Livingstone (31) weds Mary Moffat
David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish doctor, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa.
First recorded bowling match in the US takes place at Knickerbocker Alleys, New York
First recorded bowling match in the US takes place at Knickerbocker Alleys, New York
New York Illustrated News, the first illustrated weekly magazine in the US, publishes its first issue in New York
The Illustrated London News, founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened on September 12, 1846?
- 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 and through the islands of the Arctic Archipelago, during the Coppermine expedition of 1819 and the Mackenzie River expedition of 1825, and served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1837 to 1843. 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.
- Why is HMS Terror and HMS Erebus, the British expedition searching for a Northwest P... significant?
- Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator.