Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/452

 440 FRANKLIN mar school of Louth. But he soon showed a decided predilection for the sea ; and his father, hoping that his inclination for the life of a sailor would be removed by an experience of its dis- comforts, permitted him to make a voyage to Lisbon in a small merchant vessel. As he re- turned with his enthusiasm increased, his father yielded, and procured him admission to the navy as a midshipman at the age of 14. He served on board the Polyphemus at the battle of Copenhagen, April 2, 1801. In the ensuing summer he joined the Investigator, which was commanded by his cousin, Oapt. Flinders, and was commissioned by the English government to explore the coasts of Australia. After nearly two years spent in this service, the In- vestigator proving unseaworthy, her officers sailed for home in the store ship Porpoise ; but that vessel was wrecked Aug. 18, 1803, on a reef about 200 m. from the coast of Australia, and Franklin and his companions remained on a sand bank 600 ft. long for 50 days, when re- lief arrived from Port Jackson. Franklin was carried to Canton, where he obtained passage to England in a vessel of the China fleet of Indiamen, commanded by Sir NathanielDance. On reaching England he joined the ship of the line Bellerophon, and in 1805 took part in the battle of Trafalgar as signal midshipman, performing his functions with distinguished courage. Of 40 persons who stood round him on the poop, only seven escaped unhurt. For several years afterward he served in the Bed- ford on various stations, the last of which was the coast of the United States during the war of 1812-'15. He commanded the boats of the Bedford in a fight with the American gunboats at New Orleans, one of which he boarded and captured; he was wounded, and for his gal- lantry was made a lieutenant. In 1818, the British government having fitted out an expe- dition to attempt the passage to India by cross- ing the polar sea to the north of Spitzbergen, Franklin was appointed to the command of the Trent, one of the two vessels of the expedition ; the other, the Dorothea, being commanded by Capt. Buchan. After passing lat. 80 N. the Dorothea received so much damage from the ice that her immediate return to England was decided on. Franklin begged to be permitted to continue the voyage with the Trent alone, but Capt. Buchan would not consent. Frank- lin's conduct on this occasion gave him a high reputation as a bold and thorough seaman and a competent surveyor and scientific observer. In 1819 he was appointed to the command of an expedition to travel overland from Hudson bay to the Arctic ocean, and explore the coast of America eastward from the Coppermine river. (For an account of this and his other arctic expeditions, see ARCTIC DISCOVERT.) Franklin returned to England in 1822. Shortly after his arrival he was made a post captain and elected a fellow of the royal society. In 1823 he published "Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in 1819-'22;" and in August of the same year he married Eleanor Porden. In 1825 he was appointed to the command of another overland expedition to the Arctic ocean. When the day assigned for his departure arrived, his wife was lying at the point of death. She, however, insisted that he should not delay his voyage on her account, and gave him a silk flag, which she requested him to hoist when he reached the polar sea. She died the day after he left England. He returned home by way of New York, arriving at Liverpool, Sept. 24, 1827; and on March 8, 1828, he married Jane Griffin, the present Lady Franklin. In the same year he published his " Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea in 1825-'7." In 1829 he was knighted, and received the degree of D. C. L. from Oxford university and the gold medal of the geographical society of Paris. In 1830 he was sent to the Mediterranean in com- mand of the Rainbow. While on this station he was noted for his attention to the comfort of his crew, and the sailors expressed their sense of his kindness by calling his vessel the "Celestial Rainbow" and "Franklin's Para- dise." In 1836 he was made governor of Tas- mania or Van Diemen's Land, in which office he continued till 1843. He was a very popular governor, and originated and carried out many measures of great importance to the colony. He founded a college and gave it large endow- ments from his own funds, and exerted himself to have it conducted without regard to distinc- tions of sect. In 1838 he founded the scientific association now known as the royal society of Hobarton ; during his administration its papers were printed at his expense. When the colo- nial legislature voted an increase to the gover- nor's salary, Sir John refused to accept it for himself, but secured it for the benefit of his successor. Long after his departure from the colony the remembrance of his virtues drew from the inhabitants of Tasmania a contribu- tion of 1,700, which was sent to Lady Frank- lin to assist in paying the expenses of the search for her missing husband. In 1845 Sir John was appointed to the command of a new expe- dition to discover the northwest passage. It consisted of the ships Erebus and Terror, which were fitted out in the strongest and most com- plete manner, and manned by picked crews, amounting, officers and men, to 138 persons. They sailed from Sheerness May 19, 1845. Franklin's orders were to return in 1847. He was last seen by a whaler in Baffin bay, July 26, 1845. In 1848, no tidings of the expedi- tion having reached England, the anxiety of the public led to the fitting out of several ex- peditions in search of him. (See ARCTIC DISCOV- ERY.) After long and persistent endeavors on the part of Lady Franklin, of the British gov- ernment, and of private explorers, the mystery was finally solved by the expedition of McClin- tock in 1859. A record then discovered made it certain that Franklin died on June 11, 1847, and that his men, some of whom long survived