illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
@illuminator.bsky.social
Franklin Expedition news+research. Erebus & Terror dive season is Aug/Sept. I write a monthly-ish newsletter for this stuff.
www.illuminator.blog
www.illuminator.blog
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
How's your Sunday? A bit meh?
Maybe it needs some Tragic Doomed Love! Heroism! Horrible Death! Bitching! Watercolours! Missing Gravemarkers! and Men Geeking Out Over Flowers!
It's all here:
finger-post.blog/2025/11/02/g...
#FranklinExpedition #FranklinSearch
Maybe it needs some Tragic Doomed Love! Heroism! Horrible Death! Bitching! Watercolours! Missing Gravemarkers! and Men Geeking Out Over Flowers!
It's all here:
finger-post.blog/2025/11/02/g...
#FranklinExpedition #FranklinSearch
"He died much lamented": George S. Malcolm of HMS Resolute, and his grave on Griffith Island - THERE STOOD NO FRIENDLY FINGER-POST TO GUIDE US
George Malcolm of HMS Resolute died in the Arctic searching for the Franklin Expedition. His grave marker would go on a journey of its own.
finger-post.blog
November 2, 2025 at 5:27 PM
How's your Sunday? A bit meh?
Maybe it needs some Tragic Doomed Love! Heroism! Horrible Death! Bitching! Watercolours! Missing Gravemarkers! and Men Geeking Out Over Flowers!
It's all here:
finger-post.blog/2025/11/02/g...
#FranklinExpedition #FranklinSearch
Maybe it needs some Tragic Doomed Love! Heroism! Horrible Death! Bitching! Watercolours! Missing Gravemarkers! and Men Geeking Out Over Flowers!
It's all here:
finger-post.blog/2025/11/02/g...
#FranklinExpedition #FranklinSearch
Just as written records from the lost Franklin Expedition were within reach, Canada is having to pull the plug on archaeological excavation of HMS Erebus & Terror.
loganzachary.substack.com/p/illuminato...
loganzachary.substack.com/p/illuminato...
illuminator newsletter #42
The final dive season.
loganzachary.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Just as written records from the lost Franklin Expedition were within reach, Canada is having to pull the plug on archaeological excavation of HMS Erebus & Terror.
loganzachary.substack.com/p/illuminato...
loganzachary.substack.com/p/illuminato...
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
In a way, it’s sort of a good thing most of the pubs mentioned in this piece by @illuminator.bsky.social and @finger-post.blog are gone, because IMAGINE the carnage a Franklin pub crawl would create across London.
www.illuminator.blog/p/londonpubs...
www.illuminator.blog/p/londonpubs...
The wreck of The Sir John Franklin (and other Franklin Expedition pubs of London).
By Logan Zachary & Alison Freebairn. July 15, 2025. { Outside the East India Docks. May 25th, 2023. } Perhaps everyone reading...
www.illuminator.blog
July 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
In a way, it’s sort of a good thing most of the pubs mentioned in this piece by @illuminator.bsky.social and @finger-post.blog are gone, because IMAGINE the carnage a Franklin pub crawl would create across London.
www.illuminator.blog/p/londonpubs...
www.illuminator.blog/p/londonpubs...
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
If you're a member of the Maritime Museum, please come to my talk tomorrow night, at 6.30pm, on the life of Eleanor Anne Porden! She's done much more than *just* being married to John Franklin - she was an acclaimed poet and fascinating person. Hope to see you there! www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/nat...
Members' Lecture: Eleanor Anne Porden
Uncover the often-forgotten life of John Franklin's first wife, Eleanor Anne Porden, with author Sam Pope
www.rmg.co.uk
July 13, 2025 at 1:40 PM
If you're a member of the Maritime Museum, please come to my talk tomorrow night, at 6.30pm, on the life of Eleanor Anne Porden! She's done much more than *just* being married to John Franklin - she was an acclaimed poet and fascinating person. Hope to see you there! www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/nat...
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
Just migrated from polluted Twitter. Any Franklin expedition aficionados here yet? If so I would love to connect with you.
January 21, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Just migrated from polluted Twitter. Any Franklin expedition aficionados here yet? If so I would love to connect with you.
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
It’s 22nd April, which means it’s Abandonment Day: the date HMS Erebus & Terror were abandoned by their crews in 1848.
(We know this from the last addition to the Victory Point note, made by Captains Crozier & Fitzjames on 25th April 1848)
www.historymuseum.ca/blog/a-very-...
(We know this from the last addition to the Victory Point note, made by Captains Crozier & Fitzjames on 25th April 1848)
www.historymuseum.ca/blog/a-very-...
A very special piece of paper
www.historymuseum.ca
April 22, 2024 at 9:02 AM
It’s 22nd April, which means it’s Abandonment Day: the date HMS Erebus & Terror were abandoned by their crews in 1848.
(We know this from the last addition to the Victory Point note, made by Captains Crozier & Fitzjames on 25th April 1848)
www.historymuseum.ca/blog/a-very-...
(We know this from the last addition to the Victory Point note, made by Captains Crozier & Fitzjames on 25th April 1848)
www.historymuseum.ca/blog/a-very-...
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
"...if intelligence be not received, before the 31st March of the officers and crews of HMS Erebus and Terror being alive, they will be considered as having died in service."
This "sentence of death", as Lady Franklin described it, fell on the #FranklinExpedition OTD in 1854. #NavalHistory
This "sentence of death", as Lady Franklin described it, fell on the #FranklinExpedition OTD in 1854. #NavalHistory
March 31, 2024 at 10:01 AM
"...if intelligence be not received, before the 31st March of the officers and crews of HMS Erebus and Terror being alive, they will be considered as having died in service."
This "sentence of death", as Lady Franklin described it, fell on the #FranklinExpedition OTD in 1854. #NavalHistory
This "sentence of death", as Lady Franklin described it, fell on the #FranklinExpedition OTD in 1854. #NavalHistory
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
For James Fitzjames' birthday I will organise a tour. If you would like to join, please fill in this form to sign up:
forms.gle/TyhyFXbaZuop...
I'm really looking forward to it! 🥳
forms.gle/TyhyFXbaZuop...
I'm really looking forward to it! 🥳
March 30, 2024 at 5:24 PM
For James Fitzjames' birthday I will organise a tour. If you would like to join, please fill in this form to sign up:
forms.gle/TyhyFXbaZuop...
I'm really looking forward to it! 🥳
forms.gle/TyhyFXbaZuop...
I'm really looking forward to it! 🥳
And is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
Wusstet Ihr, dass die Mutter von Oscar Wilde, Jane Elgee, Schriftstellerin und zudem die Cousine von Robert McClure (Kapitän von #Miertsching auf #HMSInvestigator) war? 1854 veröffentliche sie im Dublin University Magazine einen 25-S.-Artikel über McClure und die Entdeckung der #Nordwestpassage.
March 26, 2024 at 2:06 AM
And is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
New land archaeology paper out. Inuit testimony counters cannibalism assessment at the site that cold opens Frozen In Time.
journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ar...
journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ar...
March 19, 2024 at 1:29 AM
New land archaeology paper out. Inuit testimony counters cannibalism assessment at the site that cold opens Frozen In Time.
journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ar...
journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ar...
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
New post on Captain Crozier’s adventures in secondary sources to date - there will be grumbling (all of it well deserved) #NavalHistory #PolarExploration www.thethousandthpart.com/notes/crozie...
March 3, 2024 at 7:44 PM
New post on Captain Crozier’s adventures in secondary sources to date - there will be grumbling (all of it well deserved) #NavalHistory #PolarExploration www.thethousandthpart.com/notes/crozie...
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
I've been wandering around cemeteries looking for graves related to the #FranklinExpedition and other Arctic disasters for years now.
But I had no idea that the great scholar RJ Cyriax had done all this many decades ago, and that his photo albums were in Ottawa:
finger-post.blog/2024/02/18/r...
But I had no idea that the great scholar RJ Cyriax had done all this many decades ago, and that his photo albums were in Ottawa:
finger-post.blog/2024/02/18/r...
Richard J. Cyriax and his Franklin graves photography - THERE STOOD NO FRIENDLY FINGER-POST TO GUIDE US
Cyriax is revered for his scholarship on the Franklin Expedition. But he also created a visual record of the history through his photography.
finger-post.blog
February 18, 2024 at 6:41 PM
I've been wandering around cemeteries looking for graves related to the #FranklinExpedition and other Arctic disasters for years now.
But I had no idea that the great scholar RJ Cyriax had done all this many decades ago, and that his photo albums were in Ottawa:
finger-post.blog/2024/02/18/r...
But I had no idea that the great scholar RJ Cyriax had done all this many decades ago, and that his photo albums were in Ottawa:
finger-post.blog/2024/02/18/r...
February 7, 2024 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
My latest Atlas Obscura column is live! On Terror Camp, an academic conference + fan con that truly sits at the intersections between those worlds. Featuring a bunch of extremely smart, extremely enthusiastic participants (led by the inimitable @tchotchke.bsky.social) who were a joy to talk to. 🥰
'Terror Camp' Could Be a Glimpse of the Future of Fandom and Scholarship
“It’s academia that feels criminally fun!”
www.atlasobscura.com
January 30, 2024 at 6:16 PM
My latest Atlas Obscura column is live! On Terror Camp, an academic conference + fan con that truly sits at the intersections between those worlds. Featuring a bunch of extremely smart, extremely enthusiastic participants (led by the inimitable @tchotchke.bsky.social) who were a joy to talk to. 🥰
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
When the National Portrait Gallery reopened in June 2023 the 'Arctic Council' portrait wasn't on display. Booo! So I arranged to visit the NPG's storage facility to view the painting there. Finally a good look at Fitzjames' portrait on the wall! Magnificent painting. #NavalHistory
January 25, 2024 at 8:32 PM
When the National Portrait Gallery reopened in June 2023 the 'Arctic Council' portrait wasn't on display. Booo! So I arranged to visit the NPG's storage facility to view the painting there. Finally a good look at Fitzjames' portrait on the wall! Magnificent painting. #NavalHistory
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
If you're as excited about the news from the 2023 dive to HMS Erebus and HMS Terror as I am, one of the archaeologists is giving a talk tomorrow! 5-6:30 PM PT | 7-8:30 PM CT, free registration: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/91c9e2...
#NavalHistory #FranklinExpedition
#NavalHistory #FranklinExpedition
January 23, 2024 at 10:00 PM
If you're as excited about the news from the 2023 dive to HMS Erebus and HMS Terror as I am, one of the archaeologists is giving a talk tomorrow! 5-6:30 PM PT | 7-8:30 PM CT, free registration: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/91c9e2...
#NavalHistory #FranklinExpedition
#NavalHistory #FranklinExpedition
Dive season press release out.
www.canada.ca/en/parks-can...
www.canada.ca/en/parks-can...
January 22, 2024 at 5:27 PM
Dive season press release out.
www.canada.ca/en/parks-can...
www.canada.ca/en/parks-can...
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
This one has been many years in the making, and involved two trips to Canada to work with the original headboards placed over the graves of three of Sir John Franklin's men in 1846.
And this is just part one! It gets even nerdier from this point on. #19thC #NavalHistory #PolarExploration
And this is just part one! It gets even nerdier from this point on. #19thC #NavalHistory #PolarExploration
January 21, 2024 at 10:06 PM
This one has been many years in the making, and involved two trips to Canada to work with the original headboards placed over the graves of three of Sir John Franklin's men in 1846.
And this is just part one! It gets even nerdier from this point on. #19thC #NavalHistory #PolarExploration
And this is just part one! It gets even nerdier from this point on. #19thC #NavalHistory #PolarExploration
www.illuminator.blog/p/gravemarke...
New long-form article. A letter-by-letter crawl through the Beechey grave inscriptions. 1st installment.
New long-form article. A letter-by-letter crawl through the Beechey grave inscriptions. 1st installment.
January 21, 2024 at 9:41 PM
www.illuminator.blog/p/gravemarke...
New long-form article. A letter-by-letter crawl through the Beechey grave inscriptions. 1st installment.
New long-form article. A letter-by-letter crawl through the Beechey grave inscriptions. 1st installment.
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
I can now share the poster on Careers of the Franklin Expedition that I presented at Terror Camp! Here's a blog post about Terror Camp, the project, and next steps: 🔗 wordpress.com/post/tristan...
And here's the poster in all its glory: tinyurl.com/fe-careers
#terrorcamp2023 #NavalHistory #c19th
And here's the poster in all its glory: tinyurl.com/fe-careers
#terrorcamp2023 #NavalHistory #c19th
Careers of the Franklin Expedition
I began this project to answer the question: which members of the Franklin Expedition might have known each other before they set sail? My initial results were presented at Terror Camp 2023 from Decem...
tristanaefwrites.wordpress.com
December 12, 2023 at 4:21 AM
I can now share the poster on Careers of the Franklin Expedition that I presented at Terror Camp! Here's a blog post about Terror Camp, the project, and next steps: 🔗 wordpress.com/post/tristan...
And here's the poster in all its glory: tinyurl.com/fe-careers
#terrorcamp2023 #NavalHistory #c19th
And here's the poster in all its glory: tinyurl.com/fe-careers
#terrorcamp2023 #NavalHistory #c19th
tl;dr This is an endorsement of the Vitamin B deficiency theory first suggested by Park & Stenton in 2019 ("Use Your Best Endeavours..."), namely, that a lack of game northwest of King William Island could have led to beriberi derailing the Franklin Expedition.
A new paper by Keith Millar has just been published online for Polar Record. Excitement! #19thC #HistMed #NavalHistory
"Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845–1859".
bit.ly/3uREeXf
"Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845–1859".
bit.ly/3uREeXf
Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845–185...
Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845–1859 - Volume 59
bit.ly
December 12, 2023 at 7:56 PM
tl;dr This is an endorsement of the Vitamin B deficiency theory first suggested by Park & Stenton in 2019 ("Use Your Best Endeavours..."), namely, that a lack of game northwest of King William Island could have led to beriberi derailing the Franklin Expedition.
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
If you see this, post a ship.
This is #HMSInvestigator on her #Arctic journey in search of the lost #Franklinexpedition, left pic: 1850(by Cresswell), right pic: 2011 (by Brett Seymor, Parks Canada). On Board was Johann August Miertsching.
#Miertsching #tallships #parkscanada #arcticexpedition
This is #HMSInvestigator on her #Arctic journey in search of the lost #Franklinexpedition, left pic: 1850(by Cresswell), right pic: 2011 (by Brett Seymor, Parks Canada). On Board was Johann August Miertsching.
#Miertsching #tallships #parkscanada #arcticexpedition
December 6, 2023 at 5:04 PM
If you see this, post a ship.
This is #HMSInvestigator on her #Arctic journey in search of the lost #Franklinexpedition, left pic: 1850(by Cresswell), right pic: 2011 (by Brett Seymor, Parks Canada). On Board was Johann August Miertsching.
#Miertsching #tallships #parkscanada #arcticexpedition
This is #HMSInvestigator on her #Arctic journey in search of the lost #Franklinexpedition, left pic: 1850(by Cresswell), right pic: 2011 (by Brett Seymor, Parks Canada). On Board was Johann August Miertsching.
#Miertsching #tallships #parkscanada #arcticexpedition
Reposted by illuminator ⚓️Franklin Expedition
New #FranklinExpedition research post!
In 1845, a boy watches in wonder as Sir John Franklin's ships are fitted out in Woolwich, and cheers as they depart.
In 1992, a searcher finds human bones in the Arctic.
In 2018, divers investigate the wreck of HMS Erebus.
finger-post.blog/2023/12/03/w...
In 1845, a boy watches in wonder as Sir John Franklin's ships are fitted out in Woolwich, and cheers as they depart.
In 1992, a searcher finds human bones in the Arctic.
In 2018, divers investigate the wreck of HMS Erebus.
finger-post.blog/2023/12/03/w...
William Lego and the lost boys of Erebus and Terror - THERE STOOD NO FRIENDLY FINGER-POST TO GUIDE U...
In 1845, a young boy watched Franklin's ships being refitted for the Arctic, and cheered as his friends sailed away. They never came home.
finger-post.blog
December 3, 2023 at 10:58 AM
New #FranklinExpedition research post!
In 1845, a boy watches in wonder as Sir John Franklin's ships are fitted out in Woolwich, and cheers as they depart.
In 1992, a searcher finds human bones in the Arctic.
In 2018, divers investigate the wreck of HMS Erebus.
finger-post.blog/2023/12/03/w...
In 1845, a boy watches in wonder as Sir John Franklin's ships are fitted out in Woolwich, and cheers as they depart.
In 1992, a searcher finds human bones in the Arctic.
In 2018, divers investigate the wreck of HMS Erebus.
finger-post.blog/2023/12/03/w...