First member of ill-fated 1845 Franklin expedition is identified by DNA analysis

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Credit: Diana Trepkov/ University of Waterloo
The identity of the skeletal remains of a member of the 1845 Franklin expedition has been confirmed using DNA and genealogical analyses by a team of researchers from the University of Waterloo, Lakehead University, and Trent University. This is the first member of the ill-fated expedition to be positively identified through DNA.
DNA extracted from tooth and bone samples recovered in 2013 were confirmed to be the remains of Warrant Officer John Gregory, engineer aboard HMS Erebus. The results matched a DNA sample obtained from a direct descendant of Gregory.
The remains of the officer were found on King William Island, Nunavut. "We now know that John Gregory was one of three expedition personnel who died at this particular site, located at Erebus Bay on the southwest shore of King William Island," says Douglas Stenton, adjunct professor of anthropology at Waterloo and co-author of a new paper about the discovery.

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