Captain Sir John Franklin was a 19th Century British Royal Navy officer whose main passion was exploring the Artic region. His extensive Artic expeditions left only about 311 miles unexplored, so naturally the charting of the Northwest Passage was next on the list and Sir Franklin was ready to accept the challenge.

The Northwest Passage is a sea route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean along the northern coast of North America. Several expeditions during the 19th Century were organized to explore the Passage in the hope to establish a new commercial road, which would provide a new way to connect with the trading nations of Asia.

In 1845 Sir John Franklin, despite of being almost 60, accepted a risky offer to lead another expedition destined to complete the route to Northwest Passage after a fellow explorer Sir James Ross declined to commend the expedition. Two bomb vessels were picked to carry the expedition: HMS Erebrus and HMS Terror.