Sir Francis Leopold McClintock (8 July 1819 – 17 November 1907) was an Irish explorer in the British Royal Navy, known for his discoveries in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. He confirmed explorer John Rae's controversial report gathered from Inuit sources on the fate of Franklin's lost expedition, the ill-fated Royal Navy undertaking commanded by Sir John Franklin in 1845 attempting to be the first to traverse the Northwest Passage. McClintock's report was received more favorably than that of Rae, who was shunned and denied recognition for having discovered the lost expedition's fate. Rae's report ultimately guided McClintock to the correct area to conduct a search. McClintock also stirred controversy with his claim that Franklin, before his death, had essentially discovered the Northwest Passage, while in reality he had not. Rae, with his discovery of Rae Strait, had discovered the real ice-free passage through North America's Arctic archipelago. Early life McClintock was born on 8 July 1819, one of 14 children of Henry McClintock, a collector of customs at Dundalk in County Louth, Ireland, and his wife Elizabeth Melesina . He was the second oldest son, although the eldest died as an infant. The family was well connected; McClintock's uncle, John McClintock, was a Member of Parliament for County Louth and owned Drumcar House. Arctic exploration In 1835, McClintock became a member of the Royal Navy as a gentleman volunteer. In 1843 he passed his examination for lieutenancy and joined the steamship "Gorgon", which was driven ashore at Montevideo and salvaged, a feat of seamanship on the part of her captain and officers that attracted much attention. Hitherto, until 1847, McClintock's service was almost wholly on the American coasts. McClintock joined a series of searches for Sir John Franklin between 1848 and 1859. He mastered travel through the manhauling of sledges, which remained the standard practice when it came to overland travel in icy territory in the Royal Navy, until the death of Robert Falcon Scott in his bid to reach the South Pole in 1912. In 1848, McClintock accompanied James Clark Ross on his survey of Somerset Island. As part of Captain Henry Kellett's expedition from 1852 to 1854, McClintock travelled by sled and discovered of previously unknown coastline. Fate of Franklin's expedition In 1854, explorer John Rae travelled west from Repulse Bay, on the northern shores of Hudson Bay, and learned from the Inuit that a ship had been