Toronto Reference Library Blog

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The remains of the HMS Terror have been found in the waters of a Nunavut bay, according to reports by various news sources. This tremendous discovery marks an important moment in Canada's history, and solves a mystery that has been 168 years in the making. On May 19, 1845 Sir John Franklin set out on an expedition to chart the Northwest Passage on the ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, with a crew of 129 men. Despite being very well-equipped, the ships were no match for the challenges of the harsh Arctic environment. The last sighting of the expedition by Arctic whalers was in July 1845, and then Franklin was never seen again.

The disappearance of Sir John Franklin launched the greatest rescue mission in the history of exploration. In September 2014, the remains of the HMS Erebus were located, and now two years later almost to the date, the remains of the HMS Terror have been found. 

Inuit knowledge has been integral to this story from the beginning, as it was the Inuit who helped the members of the rescue expeditions so many years ago, providing information on the whereabouts of the last sighting of the ships, and the crew members, and now it was an Inuk crew member who is credited with the sighting that led to the discovery of the HMS Terror, in Terror Bay no less.  

There are many items in the Baldwin Collection of Canadiana at the Marilyn & Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre at the Toronto Reference Library that relate to Sir John Franklin, his original expedition and the large-scale rescue missions. A number of these have been digitized and can be found in the Digital Archive, accessible from anywhere.

Frozen Ocean, one of our virtual exhibits, covers the hunt for the Northwest Passage, The Franklin Expedition as well as the important role the Inuit played in the assistance of the rescue expeditions. There is also a beautiful collection of images on Pinterest, To Seek A Northwest Passage to The Sea.

There are also eBooks on this topic in PDF format that can be downloaded, for example:

 Arctic researches, and life among the Esquimaux; being the narrative of an expedition in search of Sir John Franklin, in the years 1860, 1861, and 1862 (1865)