DNA Study Identifies 4 More Franklin Crew Members, Raising Named Dead to 6
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 30
DNA Study Identifies 4 More Franklin Crew Members, Raising Named Dead to 6
6 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 30
Four newly identified sailors — William Orren, David Young, John Bridgens and Harry Peglar — were matched to remains from the 1845 Franklin expedition, nearly 180 years after the disaster.
DNA from skeletal remains, mainly teeth, was compared with living descendants and produced exact matches in all four cases, according to researchers led by the University of Waterloo.
The identifications lift the total number of named expedition members to six, after John Gregory was identified in 2021 and Captain James Fitzjames in 2024.
Peglar's case overturned a 167-year assumption that a steward carrying his papers had been found; researchers now say the body was Peglar's, possibly after a demotion.
Franklin's 129-man mission left Britain in 1845, ships were ice-trapped by 1846, and the 105 survivors who abandoned them in 1848 all died trying to escape.
Most identified dead are from one ship. What was the separate, tragic fate of the HMS Terror's crew?
Cannibalism is now confirmed on a high-ranking officer. How far did the social breakdown go for Franklin's crew?
DNA Analysis Identifies Four More Franklin Expedition Sailors in 2026, Deepening Understanding of Arctic Tragedy
Overview
In May 2026, researchers achieved a major breakthrough by identifying four more crew members from Sir John Franklin's 1845 Arctic expedition—William Orren, David Young, John Bridgens, and Harry Peglar—using advanced DNA analysis. This brings the total number of identified sailors to six, following earlier identifications in 2021 and 2024. Scientists extracted DNA from Arctic archaeological samples and matched it with living descendants, finding a perfect genetic match. This cutting-edge work not only solves key parts of the Franklin mystery but also brings closure to families and deepens our understanding of the expedition’s tragic fate.