Main Menu

Death in the Ice

Special Exhibition

Death in the Ice

The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition

March 2 – September 30, 2018

Today's Hours

9:00 AM - 7:00 PM

See All Hours
Plan Your Visit

Explore the enduring mystery behind Sir John Franklin’s tragic expedition. Leaving Britain in 1845 to chart the Northwest Passage through the Arctic, the expedition’s two ships and 129 men never returned. Through historical artifacts and Inuit oral history, this groundbreaking exhibition provides the most comprehensive account to date of Franklin’s final voyage.

An exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History (Gatineau, Canada), in partnership with Parks Canada Agency and with the National Maritime Museum (London, United Kingdom), and in collaboration with the Government of Nunavut and the Inuit Heritage Trust.

 

Franklin’s Expedition Timeline

In 1845, when Sir John Franklin left Britain in command of the Royal Navy’s most ambitious Northwest Passage expedition, no one could have imagined that one of the world’s greatest mysteries was about to unfold.

May 19, 1845: The Franklin Expedition departed from Greenhithe, near London, England.

July 4, 1845: The ships arrived at the Whale Fish Islands, Greenland, after a stormy Atlantic crossing.

July 12, 1845: Officers and crewmembers mailed their last letters home.

July 29 or 31, 1845: HMS Erebus and Terror were sighted in Baffin Bay by whaling ships. This was the last time the ships and their crews were seen by Europeans.

Winter 1845 to 1846: The expedition spent its first winter in the Arctic off Beechey Island. Three members of the crew died, and were buried on Beechey Island.

Summer 1846: The expedition headed south into Peel Sound.

September 1846 to Spring 1848: The ships were beset — surrounded and stuck in ice — northwest of King William Island.

June 11, 1847: Sir John Franklin died. He was 61 years old and had served in the Royal Navy for 47 years.

April 22, 1848: The expedition had been stuck off of King William Island for over a year and a half. Fearing they would never escape, the men deserted the ships.

April 25, 1848: The men landed on King William Island. Nine officers and 15 seamen had already died. There were 105 survivors. Officers left a note stating their plan to trek to the Back River.

January 20, 1854: Franklin’s Expedition is missing for more than eight years. The Admiralty announce that its officers and men will be declared dead as of March 31, 1854.

1847–1880: More than 30 expeditions sailed, steamed or sledged into the Arctic from the east, west and south. Very few found any trace of the expedition.

2008: A renewed search for Franklin’s ships began under the leadership of Parks Canada.

September 1, 2014: An important clue is found on an island in Wilmot and Crampton Bay: an iron davit pintle (fitting). Parks Canada refocuses its efforts near that island.

September 2, 2014: 167 years after the British Admiralty’s search began, the first wreck, HMS Erebus, is found.

2016: Almost two years to the day after the discovery of Erebus, Terror is located in Terror Bay, off the southern coast of King William Island.

 

Mark your calendar

 

Get Your Souvenir Catalogue


Death in the Ice – The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition (publication)

Complete your visit by picking up the Death in the Ice – The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition souvenir catalogue, on sale online and at the Museum Gift Shop.

 

Logo - Parks Canada Logo - National Maritime Museum Greenwich Logo - Nunavut Logo - Inuit Heritage TrustWith support from
Logo - The W. Garfield Weston Foundation