Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin - London, UK
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 51° 30.394 W 000° 07.931
30U E 699015 N 5710059
Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin was an Arctic explorer.
Waymark Code: WMDYY3
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/11/2012
Views: 12
This sculpture of Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin depicts him standing casually, holding some type of instrument in his right hand and gesturing slightly with his left. The 1866 bronze work is by sculptor Matthew Noble.
The inscription on the plinth reads:
"To the great Arctic Navigator
and his brave companions
who sacrificed their lives in completing
the discovery of the North West Passage
AD 1847.8
Erected by the unanimous vote of Parliament"
Wikipedia (
visit link) further informs us that Franklin:
"...(16 April 1786 – 11 June 1847) was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic. The entire crew perished from starvation, hypothermia, tuberculosis, lead poisoning and scurvy, and the expedition's icebound ships were abandoned in desperation...
In 1818, Franklin, under the leadership of Commander David Buchan in the Dorothea, was given command of the Trent. They set sail from Spitsbergen, but due to pack ice they returned after six months.
In 1819, Franklin was chosen to lead an expedition overland from Hudson Bay to chart the north coast of Canada eastwards from the mouth of the Coppermine River. Between 1819 and 1822 he lost 11 of the 20 men in his party. Most died of starvation, but there was also at least one murder and suggestions of cannibalism. The survivors were forced to eat lichen and even attempted to eat their own leather boots. This gained Franklin the nickname of "the man who ate his boots"."