Naval Officer and Explorer Who Disappeared in 1847

Whos is Naval officer and explorer who disappeared in 1847 ? Answer of Sunday Times Crossword GK Jumbo No 054.

The Answer is John Franklin.

Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN (16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was an English Royal Navy officer and explorer of the Arctic. Franklin also served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) from 1837 to 1843.

He 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 perished from starvation, hypothermia, tuberculosis, lead poisoning and scurvy.

Franklin was born in Spilsby, Lincolnshire, in 1786 and educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth. He was the ninth of twelve children born to Hannah Weekes and Willingham Franklin, the descendant of a long line of country gentlemen.One of John’s sisters, Sarah, was the mother of Emily Tennyson.

His father initially opposed Franklin’s interest in a career at sea and reluctantly allowed him to go on a trial voyage with a merchant ship. This confirmed his decision, so when he was 14, his father secured him a Royal Navy appointment on HMS Polyphemus.