Captain Leopold McClintock

A carte-de-visite portrait of Captain (later Sir) Francis Leopold McClintock (1819 -1907).

Sir Francis Leopold McClintock was an Irish explorer in the British Navy who is known for his discoveries in the Canadian arctic islands. He joined the Royal Navy in 1848, and between 1848 and 1854, he was a part of the series of searches for the lost artic expedition led by John Franklin.

Working with the Inuit he mastered travel by sled, a means of transport he used to map Melville Island and discover Prince of Wales Island and Prince Patrick Island. In 1857 he was given command of the Fox, returning to the arctic and discovering the records of the Franklin expedition’s movements. An account of the journey, The Voyage of the Fox, was published in 1859.

By the time McClintock left the Royal Navy in 1884, he had attained the rank of Admiral. He died on 17 November 1907.

For an account of McClintock’s life and most famous exploit, see David Murray’s The Arctic Fox – Francis Leopold McClintock, Discoverer of the fate of Franklin (Cork, 2004).

Photographed by John E. Palmer of Devon.