John Franklin

Lore & Background

Franklin was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, the ninth of twelve children. After a trial voyage on a merchant ship at age 12, he secured a Royal Navy appointment on HMS Polyphemus in 1800. He saw action at the Battle of Copenhagen, served aboard HMS Investigator (which was later abandoned in the Arctic in 1853, long after Franklin's service), and was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. During the War of 1812, he was wounded at the Battle of Lake Borgne.

Franklin led the Coppermine expedition in 1819, during which he fell into the Hayes River and was rescued. The expedition lost 11 of 20 men to starvation, exhaustion, murder, and possible cannibalism; survivors ate lichen and their own boots, earning Franklin the nickname 'the man who ate his boots.' His second Arctic expedition, the Mackenzie River expedition of 1825, reached the mouth of the Mackenzie River and explored westward to Return Reef.

Franklin served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1837 to 1843. In 1845, at age 59, he commanded his third and final expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage. His ships became icebound off King William Island, where he died in June 1847. The ships were abandoned ten months later, and the entire crew died from starvation, hypothermia, and scurvy.

Reader's Guide

John Franklin's significance lies in his contributions to Arctic exploration and the tragic end of his final expedition. His overland surveys of the Canadian Arctic coastline, particularly the Coppermine and Mackenzie River expeditions, filled critical gaps in European knowledge of the region. The loss of his 1845 expedition, with all 129 men perishing, became one of the most enduring mysteries in exploration history, prompting decades of search efforts that further mapped the Arctic. Franklin's earlier nickname, 'the man who ate his boots,' reflects the extreme hardships of his first overland journey. His tenure as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land left a mixed legacy, including the naming of landmarks such as Franklin Square in Hobart and the Franklin River. The abandonment of the indigenous girl Mathinna after the Franklins returned to England is a noted aspect of his colonial record. Franklin's expeditions, particularly the final one, remain subjects of historical and archaeological study.

Did You Know?

• Franklin fell into the Hayes River at Robinson Falls and was rescued about 90 meters downstream during his 1819 Coppermine expedition.
• He earned the nickname 'the man who ate his boots' after survivors on his 1819 expedition ate lichen and their own leather boots.
• The village of Franklin and the Franklin River in Tasmania are named in his honor.