Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859
The loss of Sir John Franklin’s Arctic expedition has provoked speculation about the cause of the fatal outcome from the expedition’s departure in 1845 to the present day. This study describes how The Lancet, first published in 1823 and now one of the world’s leading medical journals, drew conclusio...
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ftuglasgow:oai:eprints.gla.ac.uk:309750 2024-01-14T10:04:14+01:00 Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859 Millar, Keith 2023-12-12 text https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/309750/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/309750/1/309750.pdf en eng Cambridge University Press https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/309750/1/309750.pdf Millar, K. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/7899.html> (2023) Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859. Polar Record <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Polar_Record.html>, 59, e40. (doi:10.1017/S0032247423000323 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247423000323>) cc_by_4 Articles PeerReviewed 2023 ftuglasgow https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247423000323 2023-12-21T23:09:07Z The loss of Sir John Franklin’s Arctic expedition has provoked speculation about the cause of the fatal outcome from the expedition’s departure in 1845 to the present day. This study describes how The Lancet, first published in 1823 and now one of the world’s leading medical journals, drew conclusions at the time of the expedition’s loss, which closely parallel those of today’s most recent research. The journal took evidence from Arctic medical and naval experts to conclude in 1859 that the Admiralty’s misdirected searches committed the crews to ice-bound entrapment, which had fatal nutritional consequences. The Lancet’s prescience has been supported by recent research showing that the unique physical circumstances faced by the expedition had nutritional effects related to vitamin deficiencies, which explain mortality over the third winter and the eventual total loss. It is significant that, although published 160 years apart and with vitamins unknown in the Victorian era, both studies took robust evidence-based approaches to draw similar conclusions. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Polar Record University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications Arctic Polar Record 59 |
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Open Polar |
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University of Glasgow: Enlighten - Publications |
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ftuglasgow |
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English |
description |
The loss of Sir John Franklin’s Arctic expedition has provoked speculation about the cause of the fatal outcome from the expedition’s departure in 1845 to the present day. This study describes how The Lancet, first published in 1823 and now one of the world’s leading medical journals, drew conclusions at the time of the expedition’s loss, which closely parallel those of today’s most recent research. The journal took evidence from Arctic medical and naval experts to conclude in 1859 that the Admiralty’s misdirected searches committed the crews to ice-bound entrapment, which had fatal nutritional consequences. The Lancet’s prescience has been supported by recent research showing that the unique physical circumstances faced by the expedition had nutritional effects related to vitamin deficiencies, which explain mortality over the third winter and the eventual total loss. It is significant that, although published 160 years apart and with vitamins unknown in the Victorian era, both studies took robust evidence-based approaches to draw similar conclusions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Millar, Keith |
spellingShingle |
Millar, Keith Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859 |
author_facet |
Millar, Keith |
author_sort |
Millar, Keith |
title |
Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859 |
title_short |
Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859 |
title_full |
Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859 |
title_fullStr |
Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859 |
title_sort |
victorian prescience: the lancet medical journal and the loss of the franklin expedition, 1845-1859 |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/309750/ https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/309750/1/309750.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Polar Record |
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Arctic Polar Record |
op_relation |
https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/309750/1/309750.pdf Millar, K. <http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/author/7899.html> (2023) Victorian prescience: The Lancet medical journal and the loss of the Franklin expedition, 1845-1859. Polar Record <https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/view/journal_volume/Polar_Record.html>, 59, e40. (doi:10.1017/S0032247423000323 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247423000323>) |
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cc_by_4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247423000323 |
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Polar Record |
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59 |
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1788058834322849792 |