British sailor John Franklin hoped to sail the Northwest Passage in the 1840s . Franklin and his crew perished in the Canadian Arctic . `` Franklin 's ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expeditions , which took place nearly 200 years ago , laid the foundations of Canada 's Arctic sovereignty . '' The first attempt at a North Pole expedition was made by Sir Robert McClure, who sailed from England on April 24, 1846 with two ships of the Royal Navy under Captain James Clark Ross.
British sailor John Franklin hoped to sail the Northwest Passage in the 1840s . Franklin and his crew perished in the Canadian Arctic . The first attempt at a North Pole expedition was made by Sir Robert McClure, who sailed from England on April 24, 1846 with two ships of the Royal Navy under Captain James Clark Ross.