Captain James Fitzjames Identified from Franklin Expedition

Captain James Fitzjames, a key figure in the ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage, has been identified from skeletal remains discovered in the Canadian Arctic. Using DNA extracted from a molar, researchers matched it to living descendants, confirming Fitzjames as the second member of the crew to be positively identified, following engineer John Gregory. The remains showed signs of cannibalism, indicating the extreme survival conditions faced by the crew after their ships, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, became trapped in ice. Fitzjames commanded one of the ships and perished along with 128 crew members, with many bodies found bearing evidence of cannibalism. This identification sheds light on the desperate circumstances of the expedition, which has long fascinated historians and the public alike. The study was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, revealing significant insights into the tragic end of the expedition.