Harry Goodsir and the Last Franklin Expedition, of 1845

• Published in: Journal of Medical Biography
• Main Author: Kaufman, Matthew H
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2004
• Subjects: History and Philosophy of Science; Medicine (miscellaneous); Arctic; North West Passage
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/096777200401200207; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/096777200401200207

Henry Duncan Spens (“Harry”) Goodsir was one of the younger brothers of John Goodsir, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh from 1846 to 1867. Harry Goodsir qualified with the LRCS Edinburgh diploma in 1840, and was an anatomist and naturalist of the highest promise. He was Conservator of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from 1843 until 1845, when he was appointed assistant surgeon and naturalist to the Franklin Expedition. This sailed to the Arctic seas under Sir John Franklin, to find the North-West Passage, but was lost. Its fate was never determined satisfactorily, although several subsequent expeditions attempted to do so.