Admiral Sir John Franklin

Admiral Sir John Franklin is a statue in the City of Westminster, among monuments to Britain’s maritime history. You see a Victorian commemorative figure in naval uniform. It honours a Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer whose career reached the rank of Rear Admiral. His most famous pursuit was the Northwest Passage, a sea route through Canada’s Arctic Archipelago.

In 1845, Franklin commanded HMS Erebus and HMS Terror on an expedition to chart unexplored sections of that passage. The ships became icebound, and none of the more than one hundred crew members returned. Their disappearance prompted numerous search expeditions and revealed the severe conditions faced in the Canadian Arctic. Those efforts also expanded mapping and understanding of the region, leaving Franklin and his crew attached to many geographical names.

Maps and navigational instruments connect the monument with the practical work of exploration. The surrounding Westminster memorials place this story within Britain’s wider maritime and imperial heritage. His portrait even appeared on an Australian five-pound banknote during the mid-twentieth century.