John Franklin
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Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land | |
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In office 5 January 1837 – 21 August 1843 |
|
| Monarch |
William IV Victoria |
| Preceded by | Sir George Arthur |
| Succeeded by | Sir John Eardley-Wilmot |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
16 April 1786 Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England, UK |
| Died | 11 June 1847 (aged 61) near King William Island, Victoria Strait (now in Nunavut, Canada) |
| Spouse(s) |
Eleanor Anne Porden Jane Griffin |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom/British Empire
|
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1800–1847 |
| Rank |
Rear-Admiral (Promoted posthumously: 1852) |
| Battles/wars |
French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars |
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.
Franklin participated in several historic voyages and naval battles including the Battle of Copenhagen aboard HMS Polyphemus, an expedition to the coast of Australia on HMS Investigator with his cousin by marriage, Captain Matthew Flinders, the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 (aboard HMS Bellerophon), and the Battle of New Orleans. He also accompanied Captain Dance on the East India Company's ship the Earl Camden, frightening off Admiral Linois at the Battle of Pulo Aura in the straits of Malacca on 14 February 1804.
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