Scientists Use DNA to Identify Bones, Find Descendants of Franklin Expedition Sailor

Scientists Use DNA to Identify Bones, Find Descendants of Franklin Expedition Sailor
Terror Bay where the sunken ship the HMS Terror lies, near Gjoa Haven Nunavut, on Sept. 3, 2017. The Canadian Press/Jason Franson
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Human remains resting in a remote Arctic cairn, visible emblems of one of the North’s most enduring mysteries, finally have a name.

Scientists have managed to identify bones belonging to a member of the Franklin expedition, a 19th-century voyage of exploration and discovery that ended in disaster, starvation and death. James Fitzjames—only the second member of the expedition’s crew to be identified by DNA—captained one of the expedition’s two ships and served as second-in-command after Sir John Franklin’s death.