The Franklin Expedition from First to Last

An Arctic traveller's campaigning letters about where to search for the missing Franklin expedition, published in 1855.

This collection of letters by Arctic traveller and surgeon Richard King (1810/11–76), published in 1855, formed part of his campaign to locate and rescue the missing Franklin expedition. Officials ignored him, but King was later vindicated. His efforts constitute an interesting chapter in the history of polar exploration.Having participated in a rescue mission to aid John Ross in the Arctic in the 1830s, traveller and surgeon Richard King (1810/11–76) considered himself qualified to suggest where the missing expedition of Sir John Franklin, which had set off in 1845, could be found. In his letters to periodicals, government ministers and the Admiralty, published in this collection in 1855, King argues that the missing party would be located near the mouth of the Great Fish River. He volunteered to lead a search expedition, but was ignored. By 1859, remains of the Franklin party had been discovered near to where King said they would be. These letters tell the story of his campaign, throwing light on an interesting chapter in the history of polar exploration and the understanding of the Canadian Arctic. Several other works on Franklin's last expedition and the subsequent searches are also reissued in this series.