Captain Sir Leopold McClintock, R.N

Print of an engraving of a photograph of Captain Sir Francis Leopold McClintock, R.N., 'Discoverer of the Remains of Sir John Franklin's Expedition', photographed by Cheyne R.N., engraved by D.J. Pound.

Francis Leopold McClintock (1819-1907) was born in Dundalk, Ireland and as a Naval officer took part in several searches for Franklin's lost expedition. John Rae on his 1854 expedition, was the first to discover that the crew had perished. He heard from several Inuit that a few years before they had met around 40 men from Franklin's expedition who were attempting to travel overland because their ships had been crushed by ice. The following year they had returned to the area and found corpses and signs of cannibalism. Rae's report of cannibalism was so shocking to the public that it provoked an angry response.

Although the Admiralty declared the crew of Franklin's expedition dead, Lady Jane Franklin refused to give up hope that her husband and some of the crew might still be alive. In 1857 she bought a ship, the 'Fox', and asked MCClintock to carry on the search. When he returned to England in 1859 he was able to confirm the fate of Franklin's expedition. He also brought back relics from the expedition, as well as a written message, found at Victory Point, which stated that Sir John Franklin had died. As a result, McClintock received a knighthood.