Did the crew of the terror have lead poisoning?

Going loco without cocoa — Provisions that included 8,000 cans of tinned food could have actually killed the sailors aboard the Erebus and Terror. Provisions to sustain the 134 crew members for three years were sealed with lead solder, which leached into the food and probably caused lead poisoning among the crew.

What did most of Franklin’s crew die of?

But Taichman and colleagues now believe that tuberculosis resulting in adrenal insufficiency, or Addison’s disease, also contributed to the demise of the crew. Their findings were published in the journal Arctic earlier this year. The Franklin story is legendary in Arctic lore.

Did the Franklin Expedition have lead poisoning?

Dramatic evidence that lead poisoning was a key element in the failure of Sir John Franklin’s 1845 Arctic expedition has come from the result of postmortems conducted on the preserved bodies of three of Franklin’s crewmen taken from their frozen graves on Beechey Island in the Canadian Arctic.

Did anyone survive the Franklin Expedition?

Not a single man survived the journey although some did reach the mainland, the bodies of thirty men being subsequently found near the Great Fish River.

How did sailors get lead poisoning?

Elevated lead levels were found in all three sailors. While lead poisoning has been a leading theory of the cause of the crew’s deaths, blamed on the crudely tinned provisions the ships carried with them from England, chronic lead exposure may only have weakened the crew, not necessarily killed them.

Has Erebus been found?

In September 2014, an expedition led by Parks Canada discovered the wreck of HMS Erebus in an area that had been identified by Inuit. Two years later the wreck of HMS Terror was located. Historical research, Inuit knowledge and the support of many partners made these discoveries possible.

How many men died in the Franklin Expedition?

The expedition was commanded by Captain Sir John Franklin, a seasoned polar explorer who had already led two previous searches for the North-West Passage. However, his final journey to the Arctic would end in tragedy. Both ships were lost, and all 129 men on board perished.