a completely revised entry for naval officer, explorer, colonial governor, and author Sir John Franklin (1786–1847). The wreck of his ship Erebus was discovered in 2014 and Terror two years later, more than a century and a half after their disappearance. Author Janice Cavell, a historian at Global Affairs Canada and an adjunct research professor of history at Carleton University, Ottawa, re-examines “the enduring mystery of his last expedition’s fate,” and his transformation into “a figure of near-mythical stature.”The previous DCB entry was published in 1988. Who wrote that one is no longer part of the online entry. But yes, Franklin has had some new historical attention since then. The new biography is here.
Update, July 5: Stephanie Abba of the DBC enlightens me:
In the Document History of the biography, you can click on the original year of publication (1988) to see the previous version - it was written by Clive Holland. (At the time of publication his title was Historian, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, England.)Thanks, I'd missed that entirely. You can indeed toggle back and forth from original to revised text -- particularly useful if, like me, you gave away that handsome shelf of bound DCB volumes in a downsizing.
