The Franklin expedition aimed to find the Northwest Passage and gather magnetic data but became a polar exploration disaster. Departing England in 1845, the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, led by Sir John Franklin, sailed towards the Canadian Arctic.
The expedition wintered at Beechey Island in 1845-46 and traveled through Peel Sound during the summer of 1846. The ships became trapped in ice off King William Island, forcing the crew to spend the winters of 1846-47 and 1847-48 there. Starvation, scurvy, and lead poisoning contributed to the death of the 129 crew members. The extreme cold, isolation, and limited resources made the journey exceptionally dangerous.