author
John Franklin
1786–1847
A British naval officer and Arctic explorer, he became one of the most famous—and tragic—figures in the long search for the Northwest Passage. His final expedition vanished in the Canadian Arctic, turning him into a lasting subject of mystery, rescue missions, and historical debate.
4 Audiobooks
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 1
by John Franklin
The Journey to the Polar Sea
by John Franklin
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 2
by John Franklin
Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1825, 1826, and 1827
by John Franklin, Sir John Richardson
About the author
He entered the Royal Navy as a teenager and saw service in major conflicts of the early 19th century, including the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Franklin later built his reputation through difficult overland and sea expeditions in the Canadian Arctic, and he also served as lieutenant-governor of Van Diemen’s Land, now Tasmania.
Franklin is best remembered for leading the 1845 expedition in HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to search for the Northwest Passage. The expedition disappeared, and the long effort to discover what happened made his name famous far beyond naval history.
Although he died during that final voyage, interest in his life never faded. Later searches, Inuit testimony, archaeological work, and the eventual discoveries of the wrecks of Erebus and Terror helped confirm the scale of the disaster and kept Franklin at the center of Arctic exploration history.